Richard Branson Flying Into Space On A Virgin Galactic Space Plane

richard branson
richard branson

Two billionaires are racing in July to get to space as quickly as possible as they seek to start space tourism. The SpaceShipTwo that will be ferrying Richard Branson has been scheduled for launch on Sunday. This will bear Jeff Bezos’ launch by a few days.

Richard Branson All Set To Win

Virgin Galactic, the extra-terrestrial venture of Richard Branson, will be flying their space plane just below the orbit on the morning of Sunday. The objective will be to reach a peak altitude of 55 miles from the surface of the Earth.

The space plane is known as Unity 22. Its take-off will start in Spaceport America, the operational base of Virgin Galactic in the desert of New Mexico. The high-profile flight will be streamed live. The two pilots will be accompanied by Richard Branson. There will also be three more passengers apart from them. Stephen Colbert, the comedian, will be hosting the live broadcast on Earth.

The total trip to landing from launch is estimated to take approximately one hour. The company claims that the people on board the space plane will be experience weightlessness for several minutes.

Richard Branson’s flight is scheduled only nine days earlier than Jeff Bezos’. Bezos will be making the launch onboard New Shepard on his highly-anticipated debut launch. The name was inspired by Alan Shepard, the first astronaut from America in space. Blue Origin, Bezos’s company, is the manufacturer of the New Shepard.

Onboard New Shepard will six passengers including Bezos and Mark, his brother. Wally Funk will be piloting the spaceplane. Wally was prevented from being an astronaut because of being a woman in the 60s. Their objective is to reach about 62 miles from the surface of the Earth.