![]() ![]() Musk’s SpaceX, which will send its first all-civilian crew (without Musk), called Inspiration4 mission, into orbit in September, has a head start over Branson and Bezos, having already launched numerous flights to the International Space Station. Feeling good, feeling excited, feeling ready.” Great to start the morning with a friend. The broadcast was hosted by the comedian Stephen Colbert, former Canadian Space Agency astronaut Chris Hadfield, and future Virgin Galactic astronaut Kellie Gerardi, who will also fly into space on a research flight in 2022.Ī gathering of space industry executives, future customers and well-wishers witnessed the launch at Spaceport America, including fellow billionaire and space industry pioneer Elon Musk.Įarlier in the day, Branson tweeted a photo with Musk, saying “Big day ahead. ![]() “It’s a beautiful day to go to space,” he tweeted.Ĭarrier plane VMS Eve, named after Branson’s late mother, hauled the SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity to an altitude of about 50,000ft, and then released the VSS Unity rocket plane, which climbed up further into space.ĭuring live footage, Branson and fellow astronauts were seen strapped into seats, wearing sunglasses as they grinned. Before takeoff, he arrived at the spaceport on a bicycle and greeted his crewmates with hugs. Photograph: Virgin Galactic/Reutersīranson flew with pilots David Mackay and Michael Masucci, Beth Moses, the company’s chief astronaut instructor, Virgin Galactic’s lead operations engineer, Colin Bennett, and Sirisha Bandla, a research operations and government affairs vice-president. Kutcher is best known for TV shows including "That 70s Show" and "Punk'd," and last year replaced troubled actor Charlie Sheen in the popular comedy "Two and a Half Men.Billionaire Richard Branson smiles onboard Virgin Galactic’s passenger rocket plane VSS Unity. "Spaceport America" is home to the Virgin Galactic company and is expected to house up to two WhiteKnightTwos – the aircraft which launch the orbital spacecraft themselves, and five SpaceShipTwos.Ī number of private companies are rushing to fill the gap left by NASA, which ended its 30-year shuttle program last year with the completion of the final Atlantis mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Thirty-four year old Kutcher, who with his wife was a pioneer of social media, re-tweeted Branson's message on his own Twitter feed, but didn't make any other comment.īranson opened the world's first-ever commercial spaceport in the New Mexico desert last October, having said the previous month that he hoped to launch the first flight within 12 months. "We are guided by safety and so will ensure that everything is just as safe as it can possibly be before we start commercial services – particularly as I will be on the first commercial flight with my kids!" he added. ![]() our spaceships are not only very beautiful but are built and flying in the final stages of our exhaustive test flight program. Linking to online video, Branson added: "As you can see. "He is as thrilled as we are at the prospect of being among the first to cross the final frontier (and back!) with us and to experience the magic of space for himself." "I gave Ashton a quick call to congratulate and welcome him," wrote the multi-millionaire entrepreneur, known for his trademark publicity stunts. The newly-single star, who split from actress Demi Moore in November, is "thrilled" to join the line for the Virgin Galactic service, which is in its "final stages" of flight tests, Branson wrote on his blog. ACTOR Ashton Kutcher is set to go into orbit after becoming the 500th customer to sign up for Richard Branson's pioneering space ship, the British tycoon has confirmed. ![]()
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