Virgin Galactic ‘passenger spacecraft Spaceship to Unity was forced to suspend a test flight today due to a technical glitch, and the two pilots returned safely to Earth, the company said.

Richard Branson’s space tourism company, which is preparing for commercial flight services next year, is testing customer cabins, horizontal stabilizers and flight controls.

The ignition sequence for the rocket motor is not complete. The vehicle and crew are in great shape, ”Virgin Galactic said on Twitter.

The spaceship took off from SportSport America base in New Mexico this afternoon, but the two pilots returned and landed an hour later.

“Pilots and vehicles are returning safe and sound,” the company said.

It later added: “We have a number of motors ready in SportSport America.

In 2021, Spaceship Two is expected to take its first passengers into space.

So far, 600 people who paid up to $ 250,000 (7,207,00) – the Virgin Galactic calls them “future astronauts” – have been waiting for years for a seat.

The development of Spaceship Two was delayed by the catastrophic collapse of the first one in 2014 due to human error.