After a nearly year-long hiatus, Virgin Galactic has returned the VSS Unity spaceplane to the skies. The craft completed a planned flight over Spaceport America in New Mexico and landed successfully. This is Unity's first flight since June 2024, reports Ixbt.com reports .
At that time, the craft had completed its final commercial suborbital mission, and the company retired it to focus resources on developing the new generation of spaceplanes called SpaceShip. However, Unity has now taken on a new role. Instead of tourists, it will carry company pilots, allowing them to practice real flight scenarios before testing of the new craft begins.
Virgin Galactic management believes that Unity's flight planning and energy management characteristics are very close to future SpaceShip models, making it ideal as a pilot trainer. According to Mike Moses, President of Virgin Galactic's spaceline, such flights help prepare crews and ground services much more effectively than simulators alone.
The return of Unity is linked to the final phase of the new craft's development program. Virgin Galactic plans to begin flight tests of the first SpaceShip in the third quarter of 2026. Initial tests will involve unpowered glide flights, followed by rocket-powered tests.
CEO Michael Colglazier previously emphasized that the test program for the new craft should proceed much faster than it did for Unity. The historic spaceplane underwent years of testing and only performed its first commercial flight in 2021. For Virgin Galactic, this is an attempt to revive its space tourism business after a necessary break to create more efficient and affordable craft.
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