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[00:00.67] Virgin Galactic has completed improvements to its VSS Unity spaceplane. 、The company plans to restart a passenger flight program this year, the company said Tuesday.

[00:20.06] Virgin Galactic suspended flights of the Unity and its carrier plane, the VMS Eve, in 2021 to work on the craft.

[00:34.67] The VSS Unity launches from the surface of the Eve after that plane carries the spacecraft up.

[00:46.09] Virgin Galactic was founded in 2004 by billionaire Richard Branson.

[00:54.59] Virgin Galactic chief Michael Colglazier said the company’s goal for the near future is to safely provide flights on a usual basis.

[01:08.68] The company wants to give both researchers and space tourists “an unrivaled experience,” he said.

[01:19.29] In February, Galactic made the first test flight of its carrier plane since 2021.

[01:29.12] The company is planning “two or three” test flights before any passenger transports, Colglazier said.

[01:38.42] The first flight will center on research for the Italian Air Force.

[01:45.06] The company hopes to do monthly flights after that to serve the 800 customers who have already purchased trips on the spaceplane.

[01:59.14] In February, Galactic re-opened ticket sales to the public. The cost of a flight is about $450,000 per person.

[02:13.75] The spaceplane is to fly passengers about 80 kilometers above Earth where they will spend about 10 minutes in low gravity.

[02:25.97] The spaceplane will then return home, landing in a way similar to that of a traditional airplane.

[02:35.79] The VMS Unity and its carrier plane take off and land in the state of New Mexico.

[02:45.89] In 2014, a Virgin Galactic passenger spaceship broke up during a test flight, killing one pilot and badly injuring another.