SEATTLE: Richard Branson, the billionaire entrepreneur, will fly to the edge of space on Virgin Galactic’s test flight on July 11, beating out fellow aspiring billionaire astronaut Jeff Bezos, according to Branson’s space tourism corporation. Branson’s successful flight on Virgin’s VSS Unity spaceplane would be a watershed moment in the race to usher in a new age of private commercial space travel.
Branson would also be the first person to go beyond Earth’s atmosphere, beating out Jeff Bezos, the founder of the rival space tourism company Blue Origin.
Bezos, the founder of online retailer Amazon.com, is scheduled to travel to space on July 20 with his brother, Mark, pioneering female pilot Wally Funk, and an unidentified person who paid US$28 million to take part in the suborbital adventure.
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Just days before Bezos’ scheduled trip, Reuters learned that Branson was mulling a show-stealing excursion.
The race, which also includes SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, is fueled by the belief that as emerging technology is proven and costs fall, space travel will become mainstream, resulting in a US$3 billion yearly tourism sector by 2030, according to UBS. Musk has yet to announce a launch date for his interplanetary mission. “Virgin Galactic is at the forefront of a new commercial space sector that is poised to open space to humanity and alter the planet for the better,” Branson said in a statement accompanying the announcement. Virgin said Branson’s journey on July 11 will be the twenty-second flight test for VSS Unity and the company’s fourth crewed spaceflight. It will, however, be the first to carry a full crew, including Branson, consisting of two pilots and four “mission specialists.” Virgin plans two more test flights before beginning commercial service in 2022, according to the company./n
