After 17 long years, Richard Branson reached the stars. The billionaire flew to the edge of space in the vehicle his company developed over the years. The trip lasted about an hour and he returned to the Earth safe and sound after having the “Experience of a lifetime”.
After this achievement, he became a space tourist pioneer and the first that has tried his own space vehicle. Therefore, he left Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk behind in this race. The Unity, a rocket built in the USA, reached 85 km height, being the first of it’s type.
During this trip, Sir Richard was accompanied by two professional pilots, Dave Mackey and Michael Masucci, and three Galactic employees, Beth Moses, Colin Bennett, and Sirisha Bandla. In conclusion, this guarantees his safety and the success of the trip.
Chris Hadfield, a former space station commander and a Canadian astronaut presented Sir Richard with the pilots of his crew. Thanks to these introductions the flight was possible, making this the first test of the possible space tourism experience he wants to sell. 600 individuals tickets have been sold already, with a cost of $250,000, for the next years.
How the experience will be for the next space tourists?
Sir Richard said “I’ve had my notebook with me and I’ve written down 30 or 40 little things that will make the experience for the next person who goes to space with us that much better. The only way sometimes you can find these little things is to get in a spaceship and go to space and experience it for yourself”
Announcing his intentions to fly to space in 2004, Sir Richard has been building everything for that moment. However, The preparations included a fatal crash in 2014, making this the most difficult project he ever did. Finally, he was successful and he guarantees that the travel will include almost 5 minutes of weightlessness and many more things.
