(TargetLiberty.org) – For about 17 years, Richard Branson has been trying to go to outer space. On July 11, he finally made the trip in the spacecraft Unity, owned by his company Virgin Galactic.
Branson boarded a spaceship on Sunday and launched off toward the stars. The 70-year-old and five crew members traveled 53.5 miles and reportedly were able to experience about four minutes in space before coming back to Earth in the New Mexico desert. The entire trip lasted about 15 minutes. According to the Associated Press, that’s about how long Alan Shepard’s first spaceflight was in 1961. Shepard was the first American to go into space.
Branson described the trip as “magical.”
I have dreamt about this moment since I was a child, but going to space was more magical than I ever imagined https://t.co/Wyzj0nOBgX #Unity22 @virgingalactic pic.twitter.com/grs7vHAzca
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 11, 2021
The billionaire originally planned to take the trip later but moved his trip up a couple of days after Jeff Bezos announced he’d be going into space on July 20. Branson denied he moved his trip to beat Bezos. He said the two are not competing with one another. Both men hope to start taking tourists into space. Bezos congratulated Branson, saying he “can’t wait to join the club.”
Virgin Galactic has over 600 reservations for space flights. The tickets initially cost $250,000 each. Bezos has not announced the cost of his tickets.
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