Richard Branson Beats Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk in Reaching Space in His Own Aircraft

Billionaire Sir Richard Branson has reached space on a Virgin Galactic flight after nearly two decades of trying.

Branson has worked almost 17 years on Virgin Galactic development and was able to achieve his dreams this past Sunday.

“I have dreamt of this moment since I was a kid, and honestly nothing could prepare you for the view of Earth from space,” Branson said after landing.
Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft VSS Unity launched above the skies of New Mexico on Sunday, with two pilots guiding the vehicle carrying the founder Branson and three Virgin Galactic employees.

Speaking from the spacecraft’s cabin, Branson called the spaceflight the “complete experience of a lifetime.”

The VSS Unity had performed a slow backflip in microgravity, when the Virgin Galactic crew was weightless and floated around the spacecraft cabin. The spacecraft reached an altitude of 86.1 kilometers, which is about 282,000 feet.

Pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci flew the aircraft and alongside Branson in the spacecraft’s cabin were chief astronaut trainer Beth Moses, lead operations engineer Colin Bennett, and VP of government affairs Sirisha Bandla.

Mackay and Masucci have previously flown to space, as well as Moses and pilots C.J. Sturckow and Mark Stucky.

VSS Unity is designed to hold up to six passengers along with the two pilots.
Virgin Galactic already has about 600 reservations for tickets on future flights, sold at prices between $200,000 and $250,000 each.

“We’re here to make space more accessible to all at all,” Branson said after the flight. “The mission statement that I wrote inside my spacesuit was to turn the dream of space travel into a reality for my grandchildren … and for many people who are alive today, for everybody.”

Branson also announced that Virgin Galactic partnered with sweepstakes company Omaze to offer a chance at two seats on “one of the first commercial Virgin Galactic spaceflights” early next year.

“You have a chance to go to space,” Branson said.

Disclaimer: We have no position in any of the companies mentioned and have not been compensated for this article.