Elon Musk buys ticket to space on Branson’s Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo Unity spaceplane

SpaceX founder Elon Musk has bought a ticket on one of the future spaceflights by billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, according to The Sunday Times. On July 11, Branson became the first in the billionaire’s space race between himself, Musk and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, to successfully touch the edge of space as he jumped aboard a Virgin Galactic flight. The same day, the media outlet reported that Musk has paid $10,000 as a deposit to reserve a seat on one of Branson’s flights. 

“Elon’s a friend and maybe I’ll travel on one of his ships one day,” Mr Branson told The Sunday Times.

The report comes after Branson was bestowed good wishes on his flight by Musk. A day before the spaceflight, Musk had congratulated Branson on his feat on Twitter and had implied that he would be at the launch site in New Mexico to watch the Virgin Galactic flight jet out to outer space. “Will see you there to wish you the best," SpaceX CEO had tweeted out his support for Branson. Then, on Sunday, Musk, true to his word, appeared standing alongside Branson in the former’s house.

Virgin Galactic's successful flight

Meanwhile, VSS Unity 22 flight took off on Sunday carrying a Virgin Galactic rocket plane in the vehicle's first fully crewed test flight to space. Branson was accompanied by five other passengers including Indian-born Sirisha Bandla, in what Branson has touted as the beginning of space tourism. The WhiteKnight aircraft, VMS Eve, carried the rocket-powered spaceship VSS Unity. The trip proceeded without drama, and touchdown occurred at around 9:40 am Mountain Time, about an hour after take-off.

It reached a peak altitude of around 85 kilometres - beyond the boundary of space, according to the US - allowing the passengers to experience weightlessness and admire the Earth's curvature. The mission's success means that 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. “Congratulations to all our wonderful team at Virgin Galactic for 17 years of hard, hard work to get us this far," Branson said during a live feed as the VSS Unity spaceship glided back to Spaceport America in New Mexico.

(Image: Twitter/AP)