Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson flying own rocket to space
On Wednesday, Virgin Galactic said they were working on its final preparations at its base in New Mexico as the VSS Unity is scheduled to launch into space from Spaceport America sometime in the fall.
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. (AP) — Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson is poised to blast off aboard his own rocket ship in his boldest, grandest adventure yet.
WATCH:
The thrill-seeking billionaire is joining five company employees also assigned to Sunday’s test flight from New Mexico.
The London-born founder of the Virgin Group wasn’t supposed to soar to space until later this summer.
But he assigned himself to an earlier flight after Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos announced plans to ride his own rocket on July 20.
Branson’s space plane uses a special aircraft to get aloft, then fires a rocket motor to streak to space.
It’s a brief up-and-down jaunt.
