Virgin Galactic is preparing to fly billionaire co-founder Richard Branson to space on the first crewed spaceflight above New Mexico on Sunday morning, possibly beating fellow billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
It’s a beautiful day to go to space. We’ve arrived at @Spaceport_NM. Get ready to watch LIVE at 7:30 am PT | 10:30 am ET | 3:30 pm BST https://t.co/PcvGTmA661 #Unity22 pic.twitter.com/4KjGPpjz0M
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 11, 2021
Virgin Galactic tweeted "launch and live stream" of the Company's VSS Unity spaceship will begin around 1030 ET from the state's private Spaceport America.
"Unity 22" mission will be the twenty-second flight test of their spacecraft, and the company's fourth crewed spaceflight. It will also be the first to carry a full crew.
The announcement comes a few weeks after the Federal Aviation Administration approved Virgin Galactic to fly customers to space.
"After more than 16 years of research, engineering, and testing, Virgin Galactic stands at the vanguard of a new commercial space industry, which is set to open space to humankind and change the world for good," Branson said in a statement earlier this month. "I'm honored to help validate the journey our future astronauts will undertake and ensure we deliver the unique customer experience people expect from Virgin."
The Company, whose intentions are to become a leader in space tourism, will use the upcoming flight to focus on cabin and customer experience objectives, including:...
- Evaluating the commercial customer cabin with a full crew, including the cabin environment, seat comfort, the weightless experience, and the views of Earth that the spaceship delivers — all to ensure