Branson achieves space dream

Branson achieves space dream

SPACEPORT AMERICA: British billionaire Richard Branson flew into space yesterday aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel, a voyage he described as the "experience of a lifetime" – and one he hopes will usher in an era of lucrative space tourism. "Congratulations to all our wonderful team at Virgin Galactic for 17 years of hard, hard work to get us this far," he said during a live feed as the VSS Unity spaceship glided back to Spaceport America in New Mexico.

It reached a peak altitude of around 85 km – beyond the boundary of space, according to the United States – allowing the passengers to experience weightlessness and admire the Earth's curvature. The trip proceeded without drama, and touchdown occurred at around 9:40 am Mountain Time (1540 GMT), about an hour after take-off.

The mission's success means Branson has beaten fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos in the race to be the first tycoon to cross the final frontier in a ship built by a company he founded. Earlier, a massive carrier plane took off and ascended to 50,000 feet before dropping VSS Unity to complete the rest of the flight using its rocket-powered engine. The spaceplane carried two pilots and four