British billionaire Branson takes off for space

Monday, 12 July 2021 00:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

British billionaire Richard Branson is welcomed as he arrives at Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, 11 July, hours before travel to the cosmos aboard a Virgin Galactic space vessel – AFP

SPACEPORT AMERICA, AFP: Billionaire Richard Branson took off Sunday from a base in New Mexico aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel bound for the edge of space, a voyage he hopes will lift the nascent space tourism industry off the ground.

A massive carrier plane made a horizontal take-off from Spaceport, New Mexico at around 8.40 a.m. Mountain Time (1440 GMT) and will ascend for around an hour to an altitude of 50,000 feet (15 kilometres).

The mothership will then drop a rocket-powered spaceplane called VSS Unity, which will ignite its engine and ascend at Mach 3 beyond 50 miles (80 kilometres) of altitude, which marks the boundary of space according to the United States.

The spaceplane is carrying two pilots and four passengers, including Branson.

Once the rocket engine is cut off, passengers can unbuckle and experience a few minutes of weightlessness, while admiring the curvature of Earth from the ship’s 17 windows.

After peaking at around 55 miles of altitude, the ship will re-enter the atmosphere and glide back to the runway.

“It’s a beautiful day to go to space,” the brash Brit wrote in a tweet earlier where he posted a video of himself biking to the base and meeting with his crewmates, all Virgin employees.

Branson is also aiming to one-up Amazon founder Jeff Bezos by winning the race to be the first tycoon to cross the final frontier in a ship built by a company he founded.

Earlier, he posted a picture of himself standing in a kitchen with SpaceX boss Elon Musk, who’d come to show his support.

Several tourists journeyed to the International Space Station in the 2000s, but on Russian rockets.

Branson’s official role is to evaluate the private astronaut experience to enhance the journey for future clients.