Richard Branson takes off for space

Billionaire Richard Branson launched a Virgin Galactic vessel destined for the edge of space from a facility in New Mexico on Sunday, hoping to kickstart the budding space tourism sector.

At around 8:40 a.m. Mountain Time (1440 GMT), a massive carrier plane took off horizontally from Space Port, New Mexico, and will ascend for about an hour to an altitude of 50,000 feet (15 kilometres).

The mothership will subsequently drop a VSS Unity rocket-powered spaceplane, which will start its engine and ascend at Mach 3 above the 50-mile (80-kilometer) mark, carrying two pilots and four passengers.

Passengers can unbuckle and enjoy a few minutes of weightlessness while observing the curve of the Earth through the ship’s 17 windows once the rocket engine is turned off.

The ship will re-enter the dense section of the atmosphere and glide back to the runway after reaching a height of roughly 55 miles.

“It’s a great day to go to space,” the brazen Brit remarked in a previous tweet, which included a video of him bike to the base and meeting with his crew, all Virgin personnel.

Branson is also attempting to outdo Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos by becoming the first tycoon to cross the ultimate frontier in a ship built by his own company.

He’d previously uploaded a photo of himself standing in a kitchen with Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, who’d come to express his support.

In the 2000s, several visitors travelled to the International Space Station on Russian rockets. Branson’s formal task is to assess the private astronaut experience in order to improve future clients’ journeys.

Branson is known for his thirst for adventure, having set world records in hot air ballooning and boating. He founded the Virgin Group, which now has interests in everything from commercial aviation to fitness centres.

The 70-year-old tweeted a few days before his flight, “As a child, I dreamed to go to space.” He launched Virgin Galactic in 2004, but his goal was nearly dashed in 2014 when a pilot died in an in-flight accident, causing the programme to be significantly delayed.

Since then, the VSS Unity has successfully reached space three times: in 2018, 2019, and lastly in May of this year, with the first crew member who was not a pilot.

The mission launched from Spaceport America, a massive complex in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 20 miles southeast of the nearest settlement, Truth or Consequences. Virgin Galactic is the main tenant, and it is largely financed by the state of New Mexico.

Virgin Galactic anticipates two further flights after Sunday, followed by the launch of regular commercial operations in early 2022.The long-term goal is to fly 400 times each year.

For costs ranging from $200,000 to $250,000.00, 600 tickets have already been sold to persons from 60 different countries, including Hollywood superstars.

Despite the fact that, according to Branson, “space belongs to us all,” the opportunity is currently reserved for the wealthy.

“When we return, I will make an announcement that will give more people the opportunity to become astronauts,” he pledged.

The competition in the space tourism industry, which has been predicted for years, has reached a climax this month.

Bezos, the world’s richest man, is scheduled to launch aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket on July 20.

Blue Origin released an infographic on Friday touting the benefits of the experience it provides.

The main issue is that New Shepard reaches a height of more than 60 miles, beyond what is known as the Karman line, which is the international convention’s definition of space.

In an Instagram post the next day, Bezos wished Branson “best of luck.”

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