*Well, it’s now history. We’re referring to the highly-anticipated launch of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane carrying billionaire Richard Branson and his crew. It happened Sunday morning and thus created new chapter into space: commercial tourism.
The Unity 22 mission had a full crew of two pilots and four mission specialists, including Branson. The crew included Sirisha Bandla, vice president of government affairs and research operations at Virgin Galactic; Colin Bennett, lead operations engineer; Beth Moses, chief astronaut instructor at Virgin Galactic; and Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, the primary pilots.
Unity 22’s carrier aircraft, VMS Eve, launched from Spaceport America, Virgin Galactic’s homeport near the city of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Weather issues on Sunday had earlier prompted a slight delay from its originally scheduled launch time of 9 a.m. ET until around 10:40 a.m.
Prior to the flight, Branson told Reuters that he was excited, “and I really don’t think there’s anything there to be scared about.” On Sunday morning, Branson tweeted “It’s a beautiful day to go to space.”
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With Branson’s suborbital mission to the edge of space, his company, Virgin Galactic, on Sunday, beat fellow space billionaire Jeff Bezos to the punch.
As Axios points out, “this very public moment of success could help buoy the company as it pushes to begin commercial service next year and attract new customers.”
“Being up there and looking back down has to be one of the most amazing feelings, and we can’t wait for more people to experience it,” Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic.”
Big day ahead. Great to start the morning with a friend. Feeling good, feeling excited, feeling ready.
Watch #Unity22 launch and livestream TODAY at 7:30 am PT | 10:30 am ET | 3:30 pm BST.@virgingalactic @elonmusk https://t.co/1313b4RAKI pic.twitter.com/FRQqrQEbH8
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 11, 2021
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