How the VSS Unity flies Space tycoon
Sir Richard beats Bezos to make boyhood dream reality
SIR Richard Branson boldly went where no tycoon had gone before to win the billionaire space race.
The 70-year-old yesterday beat the world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, into orbit by just nine days and opened up the final frontier to tourism.
He even returned to Earth in time to watch the Euros final.
Following his success in becoming an astronaut, Branson spoke about how he turned his childhood dream into reality. He said: “We’re here to make space more accessible to all.
“We want to turn the next generation of dreamers into the astronauts of today and tomorrow. We’ve had the most extraordinary experience and we’d love
Spacecraft VSS Unity is carried by the mothership to altitude of 50,000 ft then released
Unity accelerates to 2,600mph and climbs to edge of space at altitude of 55 miles, those aboard experience five minutes of weightlessness
Wings are ‘feathered’ (raised) to slow spaceship during re-rentry
At 50,000 feet wings are defeathered and Unity glides back to land conventionally at airfield
Crew 2 Capacity 6 passengers Length 59 ft Wingspan 27 ft 3in Max speed 2,600 mph Mission altitude 55 miles it if a number of you can have it, too. If you ever had a dream, now is time to make it come true. Welcome to the dawn of a new space age.”
Branson, who reached 53.3 miles in altitude, paid tribute to his wife, Joan, to whom he has been married for 45 years, saying he loved her and his family “lots and lots”.
The trip came after an investment of more than €1.1billion. The project took years longer than he expected with many setbacks, a catastrophic in-flight breakup during a test flight and a crash in the Mojave Desert near Cantil, California. Co-pilot Michael Alsbury died and pilot Peter Siebold was seriously injured.
Before boarding the flight, Branson, who arrived at Spaceport America, New Mexico, on his bike, ensured he carried with him his mission statement and
photographs of his family. He had written that now is the time “to turn the dream of space travel into a reality – for my grandchildren, for your grandchildren, for everyone”.
Before the 8.39am flight Branson was joined by fellow space pioneer Elon Musk. Posting a snap of the two together, Branson said: “Big day ahead. Great to start with a friend. Feeling good, excited, feeling ready.”
Late on Saturday, Bezos offered his support posting: “Wishing you and the whole team a successful and safe flight tomorrow. Best of luck!”
Branson’s job aboard VSS Unity was to use his “observations from his flight training and spaceflight experience to enhance the journey for all future astronaut customers”.
Following the mission’s success, he now adds space to the destinations his Virgin company offers. However, at €210,000 each for a trip thrillseekers will need to start saving.
Branson, who said he’s had 75 brushes with death over his life, was flown into space by two pilots alongside three other employees, taking off after an hour delay due to weather.
The crew were strapped in aboard Unity and launched into space by its carrier plane, VMS Eve. Once at 50,000 feet, the reusable, winged spacecraft was released at 9.26am from the mothership firing its rocket motor “within seconds” before propelling it on the final leg into space.
Flying at approximately 3.5 times the speed of sound (2,600mph), it entered into suborbital space, reaching 282,000ft above the Earth.
Branson, known on the mission as Astronaut 001, travelled with chief astronaut Beth Moses, lead operations engineer Colin Bennett and VP of government affairs Sirisha Bandla.
Bandla is the second woman born in India to go to space after Kalpana Chawla, who died in the Columbia
shuttle disaster in 2003. Flying the Unity were Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci. CJ Sturckow and Kelly Latimer flew the mothership.
Branson’s family were joined on the ground by dozens of “founder astronauts” who purchased a ticket to travel to space in the next few years.
Among them is Namira Salim, who hopes to launch early next year. She has been waiting 15 years to become the first person from Pakistan in space. More than 700 people have signed up for his trips, including Tom Hanks and Lady Gaga.
Bezos, 57, departs in eight days from West Texas, blasting off in a fully
automated capsule with three guests – his brother Mark, Wally Funk, an 82-year-old female aviation pioneer, and a €23million auction winner.
While Bezos’s New Shepard vehicle is a capsule and rocket system that fires off vertically from a launchpad, Unity is a suborbital spaceplane.
It meant the British tycoon’s craft did not drum up enough speed to escape the pull of Earth’s gravity.
At the top of the flight path, Branson and his fellow passengers briefly experienced weightlessness.
A minute after the engines shut off, the spacecraft and its passengers were suspended in microgravity. Unity then rolled onto its belly and offered the passengers sweeping views of the Earth below and the black void above.
For re-entry, the space plane used a feathering system to raise its wings, mimicking the shape of a badminton shuttlecock to reorient it as it began to fall back to Earth.
It then lowered its wings as it glided back down to a runway landing.
After touching down and ahead of the game Sir Richard wished both England and Italy “the best”.
He ensured he could watch the match by having it beamed throughout the Spaceport.
A buoyant Richard said he hoped to live to 100 and vowed to dedicate the next “30 years of his life” to making space exploration available to all.
More flights are now planned from Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport, close to the city of Truth or Consequences.