Billionaire Richard Branson made his long-awaited journey into space on Sunday morning. The English businessman made his trip on a Virgin Galactic space plane which lifted off from Spaceport America in Sierra County, New Mexico.
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Branson, who turns 71 this week, was accompanied by two pilots and three mission specialists on his trip. The trip was initially planned for later this summer but then was rescheduled. And when bad weather delayed the launch last night, it was pushed to today instead.
The move came after Jeff Bezos announced his plan to ride the Blue Origin rocket into space on July 20.
Branson’s aircraft, named the VMS Eve for his mother, carried the crew to a high altitude where the spaceplane VSS Unity launched the team into the boundary of space.
Social media campaigns by Blue Origin have been disparaging Virgin Galactic until its tone changed on Sunday, wishing them a safe trip.
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The entire flight was live-streamed, and at one point, Branson could be seen shaking the hands and feet of his with his crew for their accomplishments.
After spending close to an hour on the trip, and about four minutes of weightlessness, the aircraft made its safe return to the ground, where the crew was welcomed with applause.
Virgin Galactic has been in their New Mexico facilities now since 2019 and has endured a number of setbacks in almost a decade of working to create a commercial space travel.
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In 2014, a problem with an aircraft left one pilot dead and another seriously injured, drawing controversy from those who criticized Branson’s mission. Now, seven years later, Branson’s dream has become a reality. Branson took to Twitter before the flight on Sunday, talking about his goals and aspirations for space travel.
There are two more test flights in the future for Virgin Galactic before commercial service begins. The company said more than 600 people have already signed up for flights at an estimated $250,000 per person.
Virgin Galactic plans to begin commercial flights starting in 2022.
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