Billionaire Richard Branson launched into space on Sunday aboard the "Virgin Galactic" spacecraft in a historic flight that marks the beginning of the space tourism era. Richard Branson, along with three other passengers and two pilots, spent a few minutes in space on a journey hoped to encourage the emerging space tourism industry. The plane took off around 08:40 local time (14:40 UTC) from the Spaceport America base in New Mexico. The aircraft flew for about 50 minutes before releasing the spacecraft attached to it, which then ignited its own engine to reach space. The aircraft successfully landed afterward.
Branson promoted the mission, describing it as the beginning of a new era in space tourism, as the company he founded prepares to start commercial operations next year. The launch of the rocket-powered aircraft (Unity V.S.S.) at high altitude on Sunday represents the 22nd test flight of the company's SpaceShipTwo system and its fourth crewed mission outside Earth's atmosphere. It is also the first flight to carry a full group of space travelers, including two pilots and four specialists, among them Branson.
Although the mission is viewed as a potential milestone in transforming citizen space travel into a major commercial venture, space flights remain fraught with risks. "Virgin Galactic" reached space for the first time in 2018, repeating this achievement in 2019 and again last May, each time with a minimal crew. Last month, it received permission from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin launching customers.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of the giant Amazon company, is scheduled to travel to space later this month.
