Richard Branson flies to space onboard Virgin Galactic, check key moments of his life

Richard Branson on Sunday (July 11, 2021) fulfilled his childhood dream of flying to the edge of space. The British billionaire soared more than 50 miles above the New Mexico desert aboard his Virgin Galactic rocket plane and safely returned.

It was the 22nd test flight of the VSS Unity and marked the first successful test flight with a full crew in the cabin.

"I have dreamt about this moment since I was a child, but nothing could have prepared me for the view of Earth from space. It was magical," Richard Branson expressed after the flight.

Richard Branson said that how you feel when you look down on Earth is impossible to put into words and said that 'it's just indescribable beauty.'

While the 70-year-old was in space, he also shared a message to every child and said, "I was once a child with a dream looking up to the stars. Now I'm an adult in a spaceship looking down to our beautiful Earth. To the next generation of dreamers: if we can do this, just imagine what you can do."

The entire flight lasted about an hour and Richard Branson's participation typified his persona as the daredevil executive whose various Virgin brands have long been associated with his ocean-crossing exploits in sailboats and hot-air balloons.

The crew reportedly fulfilled a number of test objectives related to the cabin and customer experience, including evaluating the commercial customer cabin, the views of Earth from space, the conditions for conducting research and the effectiveness of the five-day pre-flight training program at Spaceport America.

The mission specialists in the cabin were Beth Moses (Chief Astronaut Instructor), Colin Bennett (Lead Flight Operations Engineer), Sirisha Bandla (Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations). The VSS Unity pilots were Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, while Kelly Latimer and CJ Sturckow piloted VMS Eve.

Back in 1957, Richard, then 15, had launched a Student magazine and in 1970, the Virgin brand took birth. He started Virgin as a mail-order record retailer in 1970 and founded Virgin Records. Currently, there are more than 40 Virgin companies worldwide in over 35 countries. 

Richard, as per reports, has challenged himself with many record-breaking adventures, including the fastest ever Atlantic Ocean crossing, a series of oceanic balloon journeys and kitesurfing across the Channel.

However, his greatest adventure of all is the Virgin Galactic, the world's first commercial spaceline.