Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson calls upcoming spaceflight 'pinch-me moment'

“Every bit about it is a pinch-me moment,” said Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson as his space exploration company finalises plans to send him and five others on a test flight to the edge of space on July 11. In a recent interview, the British billionaire said that his wife may be nervous about the historic launch but he himself was not least bit afraid. On July 6, while talking to Spaceport America near the remote town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, Branson said, “I've been looking forward to this for 17 years.”

He also revealed that the pre-flight preparations of his launch only fuel the excitement before Sunday’s milestone that also comes just one week before Branson’s 71st birthday. Virgin Galactic has announced that the launch of its VSS Unity rocket plane over the desert and will also mark the space tourism company’s fourth crewed test mission beyond Earth’s atmosphere. Notably, it would be the first to carry a full complement of space travellers consisting of Branson, two pilots along with three other mission specialists. 

Unity will be launched at an altitude of around 50,000 feet from a Virgin Galactic plane then lift off its own rocket power to the edge of space. The crew would also experience nearly four minutes of weightlessness before beginning their descent back to Earth. The company announced its first fully crewed spaceflight on July 1 after the United States Federal Aviation Administration in late June gave Virgin Galactic permission to take paying customers to space. Branson’s firm conducted a successful test flight in May this year.

‘I am so proud,’ says Branson

In a statement on July 2, Branson said, “I am so proud and excited to be flying to space on Virgin Galactic’s next rocket-powered test flight….It’s one thing to have a dream of making space more accessible to all; it’s another for an incredible team to collectively turn that dream into reality.”

“As part of a remarkable crew of mission specialists, I’m honoured to help validate the journey our future astronauts will undertake and ensure we deliver the unique customer experience people expect from Virgin,” he added.

Branson also said that along with pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci flying VSS Unity, and CJ Sturckow and Kelly Latimer flying VMS Eve, Virgin Galactic founder will be joined by mission crew specialists Beth Moses, Chief Astronaut Instructor; Colin Bennett, Lead Operations Engineer; and Sirisha Bandla, Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations. He also said, “I truly believe that space belongs to all of us. After 17 years of research, engineering and innovation, Virgin Galactic stands at the vanguard of a new commercial space industry poised to open the universe to humankind and change the world for good.”

IMAGE: AP