Branson’s Virgin space trip
Virgin Group founder Richard Branson reached space on a test flight to space in a Virgin Galactic rocket
The virgin galactic spacecraft glided back to and landed safely.
Branson made the trip with three company employees, including India-born Srisha Bandla. This was the final test mission of Virgin Galactic before kicking off commercial space flights in 2022.
A photo shared by the company showed Branson and three others in Zero Gravity.
After landing, Branson described his experience as “More magical than I ever imagined” in a tweet.
Elon Musk met Branson before his space travel
Branson tweeted a photo of him with SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk before his space trip. Elon Musk met Branson to wish him the best before his trip to space. Elon Musk also has plans to travel to outer space. Musk’s SpaceX project is expected to carry civilians into space as early as September 2021.
Jeff Bezos, who also owns a space company called Blue Origins, also sent a goodwill message to Branson. Jeff Bezos plans to travel on 20 July on his own new Shepard ship by his company. Bezos is set to pilot the spacecraft himself.
Way ahead for space tourism
Branson rode in SpaceShipTwo, which has been designed for space tourism. The vessel was built by Virgin Galactic’s sister company, which is called The SpaceShip Company. In 2018, SpaceShipTwo set a record by flying beyond the US Air Force’s defined boundary of space.
Virgin Group as well as SpaceX and Blue Origin are gearing up for space tourism. Some 600 people have already paid deposits for a 250,000 dollar ticket for space travel abroad on a Virgin Galactic vessel. Elon Musk has also bought a ticket from Virgin Galactic for a space ride.
Such space travel will also include about five minutes of weightlessness during which space travelers will be allowed to float around inside Unity’s cabin.
It took Virgin Galactic 17 years to make space tourism a reality. Richard Branson had first announced his intention to make a space plane in 2004 for commercial service.
Thus it comes as no surprise that Branson popped champagne in the middle of a desert after making a successful landing.
