Virgin Galactic to Renew Spaceplane Flights
2023-03-06
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1Virgin Galactic has completed improvements to its VSS Unity spaceplane.
2The company plans to restart a passenger flight program this year, the company said Tuesday.
3Virgin Galactic suspended flights of the Unity and its carrier plane, the VMS Eve, in 2021 to work on the craft.
4The VSS Unity launches from the surface of the Eve after that plane carries the spacecraft up.
5Virgin Galactic was founded in 2004 by billionaire Richard Branson.
6Virgin Galactic chief Michael Colglazier said the company's goal for the near future is to safely provide flights on a usual basis.
7The company wants to give both researchers and space tourists "an unrivaled experience," he said.
8In February, Galactic made the first test flight of its carrier plane since 2021.
9The company is planning "two or three" test flights before any passenger transports, Colglazier said.
10The first flight will center on research for the Italian Air Force.
11The company hopes to do monthly flights after that to serve the 800 customers who have already purchased trips on the spaceplane.
12In February, Galactic re-opened ticket sales to the public.
13The cost of a flight is about $450,000 per person.
14The spaceplane is to fly passengers about 80 kilometers above Earth where they will spend about 10 minutes in low gravity.
15The spaceplane will then return home, landing in a way similar to that of a traditional airplane.
16The VMS Unity and its carrier plane take off and land in the state of New Mexico.
17In 2014, a Virgin Galactic passenger spaceship broke up during a test flight, killing one pilot and badly injuring another.
18I'm Andrew Smith.
1Virgin Galactic has completed improvements to its VSS Unity spaceplane. The company plans to restart a passenger flight program this year, the company said Tuesday. 2Virgin Galactic suspended flights of the Unity and its carrier plane, the VMS Eve, in 2021 to work on the craft. The VSS Unity launches from the surface of the Eve after that plane carries the spacecraft up. 3Virgin Galactic was founded in 2004 by billionaire Richard Branson. 4Virgin Galactic chief Michael Colglazier said the company's goal for the near future is to safely provide flights on a usual basis. The company wants to give both researchers and space tourists "an unrivaled experience," he said. 5In February, Galactic made the first test flight of its carrier plane since 2021. The company is planning "two or three" test flights before any passenger transports, Colglazier said. The first flight will center on research for the Italian Air Force. 6The company hopes to do monthly flights after that to serve the 800 customers who have already purchased trips on the spaceplane. 7In February, Galactic re-opened ticket sales to the public. The cost of a flight is about $450,000 per person. 8The spaceplane is to fly passengers about 80 kilometers above Earth where they will spend about 10 minutes in low gravity. The spaceplane will then return home, landing in a way similar to that of a traditional airplane. 9The VMS Unity and its carrier plane take off and land in the state of New Mexico. In 2014, a Virgin Galactic passenger spaceship broke up during a test flight, killing one pilot and badly injuring another. 10I'm Andrew Smith. 11____________________________________________________ 12Words in This Story 13unrivaled -adj. without equal and of superior quality 14We want to hear from you. 15We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 16Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.