In the billionaire’s race for space, Virgin Galactic owner Richard Branson rocketed ahead of the competition today, successfully completing a sub-orbital test flight show that his company’s spaceplane is ready for passengers.
Richard Branson reached space on a test flight for Virgin Galactic before gliding back to earth and touching down safely Sunday, the latest salvo in the burgeoning space tourism business led by high-profile billionaires.The Virgin Group founder launched Sunday with three company employees, flying 53 miles above the earth in a final test mission before kicking off commercial space flights next year. Branson – who earned his pilot’s license – tested the astronaut cabin experience.
The space entrepreneur seemed to have really enjoyed the trip.
Branson received a gracious acknowledgement for competing space entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, who is planning his own launch July 20.
The success of the flight also gave the flamboyant entrepreneur bragging rights in a highly publicized rivalry with fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos, the Amazon (AMZN.O) online retail mogul who had hoped to fly into space first aboard his own space company’s rocket.”Congratulations on the flight,” Bezos said on Instagram. “Can’t wait to join the club!”
SpaceX founder and fellow billionaire Elon Musk also congratulation Branson after the flight.
The flight did have minor problems with video transmission; otherwise, the trip was a resounding success.
With about 500 people watching, including Branson’s family, Unity was carried aloft underneath a twin-fuselage aircraft. Then, at an altitude of about 8 1/2 miles (13 kilometers), Unity detached from the mother ship and fired its engine, reaching more than Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound, as it pierced the edge of space.Spectators cheered, jumped into the air and embraced as the rocket plane touched down on Earth. Branson pumped his fists as he stepped out onto the runway and ran toward his family, bear-hugging his wife and children and scooping up his grandchildren in his arms.Mike Moses, a top executive at Virgin Galactic, said that apart from some problems with the transmission of video images from inside the cabin, the flight was perfect, and the ship looked pristine.“That was an amazing accomplishment,” former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, a one-time commander of the International Space Station, said from the sidelines. “I’m just so delighted at what this open door is going to lead to now. It’s a great moment.”
It has been a thrilling day for Americans who support the national space program, especially in light of China’s recent moves on the Moon and toward Mars. The flight also represents the launch of a new era in space tourism.
Veteran NASA Astronaut Tom Jones asserted on “Fox News Live” on Sunday that Virgin Galactic’s historic spaceflight opens “the door to space tourism.”Jones, who flew on four space shuttle missions and spent 53 days working and living in space, called Virgin Galactic’s spaceflight “a great step forward.”…Jones explained that the successful journey is significant because “it’s the opening of the door to space tourism, and that’s a new expansion of the economy in space.”He noted that Virgin Galactic would make the trip shorter and cheaper “and so it opens access to a wider population of prospective space travelers.””Today you can take a vacation to Antarctica,” Jones said. “I think within 20 years you can take a vacation to space at the same price point,” he continued, noting that the price will drop “thanks to competition.”
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