Richard Branson flies to space onboard Virgin Galactic, check key moments of his life
"I have dreamt about this moment since I was a child, but nothing could have prepared me for the view of Earth from space. It was magical," 70-year-old Richard Branson expressed after the spaceflight.
Richard Branson has fulfilled his childhood dream of flying to the edge of space and on Sunday soared more than 50 miles above the New Mexico desert aboard his Virgin Galactic rocket plane.
Richard Branson fulfilled his childhood dream of flying to the edge of space
Richard Branson on Sunday (July 11, 2021) fulfilled his childhood dream of flying to the edge of space. The British billionaire soared more than 50 miles above the New Mexico desert aboard his Virgin Galactic rocket plane and safely returned.
It was the 22nd test flight of the VSS Unity and marked the first successful test flight with a full crew in the cabin.
Richard Branson onboard Virgin Galactic flight
Richard Branson on planet Earth
During spaceflight, Richard Branson shared a message for the next generation of dreamers
Entire flight lasted about an hour
VSS Unity crew
The crew reportedly fulfilled a number of test objectives related to the cabin and customer experience, including evaluating the commercial customer cabin, the views of Earth from space, the conditions for conducting research and the effectiveness of the five-day pre-flight training program at Spaceport America.
The mission specialists in the cabin were Beth Moses (Chief Astronaut Instructor), Colin Bennett (Lead Flight Operations Engineer), Sirisha Bandla (Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations). The VSS Unity pilots were Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, while Kelly Latimer and CJ Sturckow piloted VMS Eve.
Birth of Virgin brand
Back in 1957, Richard, then 15, had launched a Student magazine and in 1970, the Virgin brand took birth. He started Virgin as a mail-order record retailer in 1970 and founded Virgin Records. Currently, there are more than 40 Virgin companies worldwide in over 35 countries.
Richard, as per reports, has challenged himself with many record-breaking adventures, including the fastest ever Atlantic Ocean crossing, a series of oceanic balloon journeys and kitesurfing across the Channel.
However, his greatest adventure of all is the Virgin Galactic, the world's first commercial spaceline.