SIR Richard Branson's space launch has been delayed due to a tropical storm as he gets set to blast himself 55 miles above the earth in a rocket ship.
The 70-year-old was due to set off at 6.10am local time (1pm UK time) to become the first billionaire in space, using a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar spaceport in the New Mexico desert.
But he will now stride out in his blue spacesuit with three other Virgin execs and their two pilots – including British ex-RAF airman Dave Mackay – two and a half hours later.
A Virgin Galactic spokesperson told the Sun Online: "Due to weather overnight at Spaceport America, vehicles were delayed leaving the hanger.
"Launch time is now targeted for 8:30AM MT/10:30AM ET/3:30PM BST."
Branson – known as ‘Astronaut 001’ – will clamber aboard Virgin Space Ship Unity, a 62ft rocket-powered space plane nestled between the twin hulls of Mother Ship Eve, which will propel them up to the edge of space.
Read our Richard Branson live blog below for the latest news and updates…
- Harvey Lindsay
RICHARD BRANSON ARIVED AT THE SPACEPORT BY BICYCLE
Business mogul Richard Branson arrived at the spaceport today by bicycle.
Greeted by Virgin Galactic chief astronaut and passengers on today's flight, Beth Moses.
She said: "Let's go to space, Richard!"
- Harvey Lindsay
RICHARD BRANSON'S FLIGHT LAUNCH DELAYED BY 15 MINUTES
Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier says the flight is expected to launch between 3:35 and 3:45 (BST).
The flight is expected to be delayed by 15 minutes
“This is an historic moment… make sure you’ve got a beverage.”
- Harvey Lindsay
RICHARD BRANSON THANKS ELON MUSK FOR HIS SUPPORT
Taking to Twitter, Richard Branson thanked "good friend' Elon Musk for hissupport, as he gears up to fly into space with his Virgin Galactic crew.
- Harvey Lindsay
ASTRONAUT TIM PEAKE WISHES THE VIRGIN GALACTIC CREW A SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT
Ahead of Richard Branson's first flight with his Virgin Galactic crew, astronaut Tim Peake gave his best wishes.
"Wishing the team at @virgingalactic & @richardbranson a safe and successful flight to space today", he said.
- Harvey Lindsay
BRANSON PLANNING TO BEAT JEFF BEZOS TO SPACE
Sir Richard‘s space tourism firm Virgin Galactic announced the space trip on July 1, 2021.
The British mogul is planning to beat Jeff Bezos who will also be heading to space on July 20 on Blue Origin‘s New Shepherd spacecraft.
The flight will be Virgin Galactic’s fourth test spaceflight and its first mission with a crew of four onboard.
- Harvey Lindsay
HOW SAFE IS IT?
Virgin Galactic has flown its rocket planes 23 times, though only four of these have reached the edge of space.
The spaceflights went without a hitch, according to Virgin Galactic. Tragically, the same cannot be said for all of its tests.
In October 2014, a Virgin Galactic ship crashed, killing the co-pilot and leaving the pilot seriously injured.
Witnessws described how the craft exploded in flight above the Mojave Desert in California before debris plummeted to the ground.
It crashed after firing its rocket following a high-altitude drop from the
Virgin Galactic mothership. - Harvey Lindsay
VIRGIN GALACTIC DOES NOT USE A ROCKET TO LAUNCH INTO SPACE
Unlike most spaceflight companies, Virgin Galactic does not use a rocket to reach space.
Instead, its VSS Unity rocket plane ascends toward the heavens strapped to an enormous carrier plane called White Knight Two.
At around 50,000ft above Earth's surface, Unity detaches from its mothership. For comparison, commercial airliners fly at 30,000ft.
Once separated, Unity fires up its rocket engines and flies at a near-vertical angle into suborbital space.
- Harvey Lindsay
BRANSON PLANNING TO BEAT JEFF BEZOS TO SPACE
Sir Richard's space tourism firm Virgin Galactic announced the space trip on July 1, 2021.
The British mogul is planning to beat Jeff Bezos who will also be heading to space on July 20 on Blue Origin's New Shepherd spacecraft.
The flight will be Virgin Galactic's fourth test spaceflight and its first mission with a crew of four onboard.
- Harvey Lindsay
WHAT IS THE AIM OF VIRGIN GALACTIC?
If all goes to plan, space fans will be launched more than 50 miles above Earth – a point at which Nasa define travellers as astronauts.
Passengers will ride aboard SpaceShipTwo, a spaceplane designed to carry six passengers and two pilots.
It is carried aloft by a large aeroplane before breaking away and zooming to an altitude of about 62 miles.
In 2016, the late Professor Stephen Hawking unveiled Virgin Galactic's second SpaceShipTwo craft, called VSS Unity, after the first SpaceShipTwo craft VSS Enterprise crashed during tests in 2014.
Virgin Galactic is up against fierce competition in the private space race from firms such as Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
- Harvey Lindsay
RICHARD BRANSON: WHO IS THE BRIT BILLIONAIRE?
The British billionaire, 70, is a self-made businessman who launched his company Virgin almost 50 years ago.
He was born in Blackheath, London, in 1950 and started his first venture, Virgin Records, in 1972, which he later sold to EMI in 1992 for £500million.
The dad-of-two has started up some very lucrative companies along the way, including Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984 and Virgin Trains in 1993.
He launched Virgin Galactic in 2004, with the hope of offering future trips to space. Sir Richard has also created Virgin Media, Virgin Racing and Virgin Comics.
In 2007, he was placed in the Time 100 Most Influential People in the World list.
- Harvey Lindsay
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO FLY INTO SPACE?
With a hefty price tag of $250,000 (£175,000) a ticket, the 90-minute flight is being aimed at wealthy celebrities and thrillseekers, as well as researchers.
Branson has said that "ultimately" he would like to see the price fall as low as $40,000 (£30,700) over the next decade.
And there's already a deluge of 700 celebrities and scientists desperate to get a chance to board the spacecraft – including Hollywood A-listers Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and Leonardo DiCaprio.
- Harvey Lindsay
WHEN DID RICHARD BRANSON’S SPACESHIP FIRST LAUNCH?
After years of fine-tuning, Branson successfully reached space for the first time on December 13, 2018.
SpaceShipTwo's Unity plane flew higher than ever before in a test that marked a huge step toward Sir Richard's goal of firing paying customers into space this year.
The flight, launched from the Mojave Air and Space Port in California at 3.15pm GMT, soared to an altitude of 50 miles above Earth's surface strapped to a carrier plane called WhiteKnightTwo.
It successfully separated from its mother ship around 45 minutes after liftoff and engaged its rocket thrusters, reaching speeds of Mach 2.9.
SpaceShipTwo's rocket motor burnt for 60 seconds before shutting off, carrying the spaceplane to a top altitude of 51.4 miles, according to Virgin Galactic.
The feat marked the first time the company had reached the boundary of space as defined by the US Air Force and other US agencies.
- Harvey Lindsay
VIRGIN GALACTIC HAMPERED BY YEARS OF DELAYS
The company was founded in 2004 with the aim of taking paying tourists to space but has been hampered by years of delays.
Sir Richard's announcement came just days after Bezos revealed that he and his brother would be heading to space on July 20 on board a ship built by Blue Origin, a space tourism firm founded by Bezos in 2000.
The Virgin boss will be taking off with three Virgin Galactic mission specialists: Chief astronaut instructor Beth Moses, lead operations engineer Colin Bennett, and government affairs VP Sirisha Bandla.
The craft will be flown by Virgin Galactic pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci
- Harvey Lindsay
CONTINUED: WHO IS THE VIRGIN GALACTIC CREW?
Michael Masucci will fly the aircraft alongside Mackey.
The two of them flew to space with VSS Unity in 2019.
Masucci has over 9000 hours in 70 different aircraft.
- Harvey Lindsay
CONTINUED: WHO IS THE VIRGIN GALACTIC CREW?
The craft's pilot has over 40 years of experience as a pilot and he has clocked over 14,000 piloting hours in more than 140 types of aircraft.
Mackay studied Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Glasgow.
He is the first native-born Scot to visit space.
- Harvey Lindsay
CONTINUED: WHO IS THE VIRGIN GALACTIC CREW?
Sirisha Bandla is Virgin Galactic's VP of government affairs and research operations.
She will be testing the researcher experience using an experiment from the University of Florida that requires several handheld fixation tubes that will be activated at various points in the flight profile.
After the space trip was announced she tweeted: ''I am so incredibly honored to be a part of the amazing crew of #Unity22, and to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all.''
- Harvey Lindsay
CONTINUED: WHO IS THE VIRGIN GALACTIC CREW?
Colin Bennett is the lead operations engineer.
He will be evaluating cabin procedures during boost and weightlessness.
According to his LinkeDln profile, he obtained a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Liverpool.
- Harvey Lindsay
WHEN IS RICHARD BRANSON'S VIRGIN GALACTIC LAUNCH AND HOW CAN I WATCH LIVE?
Billionaire Sir Richard Branson is scheduled to blast off to the edge of space – before a safe return to Earth.
But when will the entrepreneur take off with Virgin Galactic, and how can you watch it live?
Sir Richard's space tourism firm Virgin Galactic will be flying its boss to space on July 11.
The British business mogul will be taking off with three Virgin Galactic mission specialists: Chief astronaut instructor Beth Moses, lead operations engineer Colin Bennett, and government affairs VP Sirisha Bandla.
Branson’s "Unity 22" mission will liftoff from Virgin Galactic's spaceport in the New Mexico desert on July 11, according to the company.
- Harvey Lindsay
CONTINUED: WHO IS THE VIRGIN GALACTIC CREW?
Beth Moses is Virgin Galactic's chief astronaut instructor.
She will serve as space cabin lead and test director.
Moses from Northbrook, Illinois, obtained bachelor and master's degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
She became the first woman to make a spaceflight on a commercially launched vehicle in February 2019.
- Harvey Lindsay
RICHARD BRANSON'S SPACE LAUNCH DELAYED BY TROPICAL STORM
Richard Branson's space launch has been delayed due to a tropical storm as he gets set to blast himself 55 miles above the earth in a rocket ship.
The 70-year-old was due to set off at 6.10am local time (1pm UK time) to become the first billionaire in space, using a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar spaceport in the New Mexico desert.
A Virgin Galactic spokesperson told the Sun Online: "Due to weather overnight at Spaceport America, vehicles were delayed leaving the hanger.
"Launch time is now targeted for 8:30AM MT/10:30AM ET/3:30PM BST."
- Harvey Lindsay
WHO IS THE VIRGIN GALACTIC CREW?
Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic will fly to space on Sunday, July 11, 2021.
But who will join him in this thrilling mission? Here's what we know about the Unity 22 crew.
Sir Richard Branson is the founder of Virgin Galactic.
He will be evaluating the customer space flight experience.
He will also undergo the same training, preparation and flight as Virgin Galactic’s future astronauts.
- Harvey Lindsay
THE ONE SHOW VIEWERS CALL RICHARD BRANSON 'A MONEY-WASTING DISGRACE' AS HE REVELS SHOCKING PRICE OF SPACE TRIP
Sir Richard Branson infuriated fans for "wasting money" on a space trip he explained on The One Show.
Billionaire businessman Richard, 70, talked to hosts Ronan Keating and Angellica Bell about fulfilling his dream of going into space.
It's not been confirmed how much money has been spent on Sir Richard's Virgin Galactic project but 600 people have reserved tickets for $250,000.
However, fans were enraged at the amount of money that was needed and thought it can be used elsewhere on something more important.
One said: “And just imagine what all that money could have done to clean up our oceans, bring forward eco-tech and sustainable living solutions."
A second wrote: “Disgraceful that Richard Branson is getting a podium on @BBCTheOneShow to talk about his money-wasting space trip. Think about what good he could do with that money. #shame.”
- Harvey Lindsay
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO FLY INTO SPACE?
With a hefty price tag of $250,000 (£175,000) a ticket, the 90-minute flight is being aimed at wealthy celebrities and thrillseekers, as well as researchers.
Branson has said that "ultimately" he would like to see the price fall as low as $40,000 (£30,700) over the next decade.
And there's already a deluge of 700 celebrities and scientists desperate to get a chance to board the spacecraft – including Hollywood A-listers Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and Leonardo DiCaprio.
- Harvey Lindsay
WHAT IS THE AIM OF VIRGIN GALACTIC?
If all goes to plan, space fans will be launched more than 50 miles above Earth – a point at which Nasa define travellers as astronauts.
Passengers will ride aboard SpaceShipTwo, a spaceplane designed to carry six passengers and two pilots.
It is carried aloft by a large aeroplane before breaking away and zooming to an altitude of about 62 miles.
In 2016, the late Professor Stephen Hawking unveiled Virgin Galactic's second SpaceShipTwo craft, called VSS Unity, after the first SpaceShipTwo craft VSS Enterprise crashed during tests in 2014.
Virgin Galactic is up against fierce competition in the private space race from firms such as Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
- Harvey Lindsay
"FEARLESS" RICHARD BRANSON PREPARES TO BLAST OFF AS HE BECOMES THE FIRST BILLIONAIRE IN SPACE TODAY
Sir Richard Branson is set to make history in the billionaire's space race today – by blasting himself 55 miles above the earth in a rocket ship.
The 70-year-old said he's "fearless" as he got ready to become the first billionaire in space, using a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar spaceport in the New Mexico desert.
At 6.10am local time (1pm UK time) Branson is set to stride out in his blue spacesuit with three other Virgin execs and their two pilots – including British ex-RAF airman Dave Mackay.
"We've spent 17 years working on this project, with astounding input from nearly 1,000 engineers and brave test pilots," he told The Telegraph.
"I'm a pretty fearless person and in this case I'm far more excited than worried. I got the risky adventures over with when I was younger."
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