Branson’s Virgin rocket plane finally makes it to edge of space
VIRGIN Galactic has sent a tourist spaceship to the edge of space four years after a fatal crash.
Sir Richard Branson was seen in tears as he watched rocket plane VSS Unity, SpaceShipTwo-class, launch from its carrier jet at 43,000 feet.
The 60- second launch propelled it to almost three times the speed of sound.
It then travelled some 51.4miles into the sky – just into space and far enough for its crew to experience weightlessness and see the curve of the Earth.
The spaceship then returned to Earth safely. The trip is a step towards regular commercial space flights. ‘Today we have shown Virgin Galactic can open space to the world,’ Sir Richard said.
He added that he aimed for a commercial space flight with passengers – including himself – by March.
It comes after another of Virgin’s experimental spacecrafts VSS Enterprise broke apart in 2014. Its disintegration, over the Mojave desert in California, killed co-pilot Michael Alsbury, 39, and left pilot Peter Siebold injured.
But tests have continued, and yesterday
‘New chapter of space exploration’
a twin-fuselage plane carrying the VSS Unity took off at 3pm from the Mojave Air and Space Port, watched by hundreds of spectators.
It took about 90 minutes before the rocket plane was released, reaching the boundary of space at 271,000 feet.
The test flight involved a NASA astronaut, a pilot and a mannequin named Annie as a ‘passenger’.
Sir Richard hugged his son Sam as they watched the spaceship blast into space.
He added: ‘Many of you will know how important the dream of space travel is to me personally. Ever since I watched the moon landings as a child I have looked up to the skies with wonder.
‘This is a momentous day and I could not be more proud of our teams who together have opened a new chapter of space exploration.’
Real-life passengers reported to have signed up to become space tourists include actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Ashton Kutcher, as well as pop star Justin Bieber.