第1761期:Virgin Galactic to Renew Spaceplane Flights

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. Virgin 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. Virgin Galactic was founded in 2004 by billionaire Richard Branson. Virgin 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.

维珍银河已完成对其 VSS Unity 太空飞机的改进。该公司周二表示，该公司计划今年重启客运飞行计划。维珍银河在 2021 年暂停了 Unity 及其运载机 VMS Eve 的飞行，以进行工艺改造。 VSS Unity 在飞机携带航天器升空后从 Eve 表面发射。维珍银河由亿万富翁理查德布兰森于 2004 年创立。维珍银河首席执行官 Michael Colglazier 表示，公司近期的目标是正常安全地提供航班。他说，该公司希望为研究人员和太空游客提供“无与伦比的体验”。

In 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. The company hopes to do monthly flights after that to serve the 800 customers who have already purchased trips on the spaceplane. In February, Galactic re-opened ticket sales to the public. The cost of a flight is about $450,000 per person. The 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.

今年 2 月，银河航空进行了自 2021 年以来的首次运载机试飞。科尔格拉齐尔说，该公司计划在任何客运之前进行“两到三次”试飞。首飞将以意大利空军的研究为中心。该公司希望在此之后每月进行一次飞行，为已经购买太空飞机旅行的 800 名客户提供服务。 2 月，Galactic 重新向公众开放门票销售。一次飞行的费用约为每人 450,000 美元。这架太空飞机将搭载乘客飞离地球约 80 公里，在那里他们将在低重力环境下停留约 10 分钟。然后航天飞机将返回家园，以类似于传统飞机的方式着陆。

The 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.

VMS Unity 及其载机在新墨西哥州起降。 2014 年，一艘维珍银河载人宇宙飞船在试飞期间解体，导致一名飞行员死亡，另一名重伤。