Richard Branson is preparing to relaunch his Virgin Galactic project to send passengers into space.
The venture suffered a devastating setback in 2014 after one pilot was killed and another seriously injured after the spacecraft crashed on a powered test flight.
The tragedy occurred after SpaceShipTwo fired up its rocket following a high-altitude drop from Virgin Galactic's WhiteKnightTwo mothership.
An official investigation into the crash over California's Mojave Desert found a co-pilot unlocked a braking system too early.
Billionaire entrepreneur Sir Richard will today unveil the project's new SpaceShipTwo, a six-passenger space plane which will take thrill-seekers and commercial customers on five-minute hops into suborbital space, reaching altitudes of about 62 miles (100 km).
Virgin Galactic is moving ahead with plans to build its own space launchers, including the new passenger vehicle and LauncherOne rockets designed to lift small satellites, starting as early as next year.
But Sir Richard is not alone in his quest to be the first to send paying passengers into space.
SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen are also working on similar projects
"To have three or four people who are fairly entrepreneurial competing with each other means we'll be able to open up space at a fraction of the price that governments have been able to do so in the past," Sir Richard said.
"Ultimately, we want to be able to produce our own point-to-point aircraft," Sir Richard said. "The best way to do that is to be involved with every aspect of the experimentation and the build."
Virgin offers to send customers willing to pay up to $250,000 (£160,000) for a short journey into zero gravity, giving them a glimpse of the planet from the edge of space.
Referring to the cost of the experience, Sir Richard told Sky News: "It's not that dissimilar to when airline travel started in the 1920's.
"Initially, people were paying the equivalent of the kind of prices people are paying on Virgin Galactic. Over the years the prices come down dramatically."
Part of the wreckage from the Virgin Galactic SpaceshipTwo lies in California's Mojave Desert after it crashed
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