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TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, NM (AP) – Thrill-seeking billionaire Richard Branson has reached space aboard his own winged rocket in his most daring adventure yet.
The feat puts Branson, nearly 71, former billionaire and rival Jeff Bezos, who plans to fly into space in his own ship in nine days.
With around 500 spectators, including Branson’s wife, children and grandchildren, a twin-fuselage plane with its spaceplane strapped underneath took off on the first leg of the flight. On board were Branson and five teammates from his space tourism company Virgin Galactic.
The spacecraft then detached from the mothership at an altitude of about 8 1/2 miles (13 kilometers) and triggered its engine, reaching the edge of space at about 53 miles (88 kilometers). After a few minutes of weightlessness for the crew, the space plane is supposed to glide towards a landing on the runway.
THIS IS A CURRENT UPDATE. AP’s previous story follows below.
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, NM (AP) – Thrill-seeking billionaire Richard Branson buckled up and embarked on his most daring adventure yet on Sunday – an attempt to reach space aboard his own winged rocket.
A successful flight would see the nearly 71-year-old Branson pass by fellow billionaire and rival Jeff Bezos, who plans to fly into space in his own ship in nine days.
With a crowd of over 500 people watching, a twin-fuselage plane with the Branson spacecraft strapped underneath took off on the first leg of the flight. On board were Branson and five teammates from his space tourism company Virgin Galactic.
The plan called for the spacecraft to detach from the mothership at an altitude of about 8 1/2 miles (13 kilometers), launch its rocket motor, and then pierce the edge of space at about 55 miles (88 kilometers) up. After a few minutes of weightlessness for the crew, the spacecraft was supposed to glide towards a landing on the runway.
The brief top-to-bottom flight was intended as a confidence boost for Virgin Galactic, which plans to start taking paying customers on the ride next year.
“It’s a beautiful day to go into space,” Branson tweeted in the morning, posting a photo of himself with fellow billionaire and space tourism rival Elon Musk.
Before boarding, the flamboyant London-born Branson signed the astronaut’s log and snapped, “The name is Branson. Sir Richard Branson. Astronaut Double-oh one. Allowed to shiver. “
Branson wasn’t supposed to fly until the summer was over. But he assigned himself to an earlier flight after Bezos announced plans to mount his own rocket into space from Texas on July 20.
More than 600 people have already booked space travel with Virgin Galactic, founded in 2004.
Bezos’ Blue Origin has yet to open ticket sales or even announce pricing, but at the end of last week it bragged via Twitter that it would take customers higher and offer bigger windows.
Blue Origin and Musk’s SpaceX both launch capsules atop rockets, instead of using a reusable, air-launched space plane.
Virgin Galactic has already completed three crewed test flights in space.
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Dunn reported from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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