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The well-moneyed business magnate attributed the crash to a brake failure. Unity was launched from the Eve mothership at an altitude of 50,000 feet and live stream video showed it shooting into space. Richard Branson has suffered what he called a colossal cycling crash in the British Virgin Islands. The crew will experience about four minutes of weightlessness before the ship will land on its own steam again. Branson, 70, served as a mission specialist on the flight, the fourth crewed spaceflight for Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity spacecraft. Today, tune in to see WhiteKnightTwo, a specially-built airplane, carry the VSS Unity to about 50,000 feet (15,000 meters) before the spaceship will break away and power itself into suborbital space. During the historic spaceflight of Sir Richard Branson in July, near the end of the burn of the VSS Unity spacecraft's engine, a red light appeared on a console. - Swashbuckling billionaire Richard Branson hurtled into space aboard his own winged rocket ship Sunday, bringing astro-tourism a step closer to reality and beating out his exceedingly richer rival Jeff Bezos. “Opening up space to a frenzy of private actors could, agree, produce measurable benefits back on planet Earth-making crucial scientific research, environmental monitoring, and everyday communication cheaper,” the New Republic writes, “But the critics are quick to note as well that the history of privatization is spotty at best, with plenty of civically brutal knock-on effects: concentrations of monopolistic power, enfeebled democratic control, and widespread environmental degradation.” What to expect for today’s flight It has been 12 months to the day since Sir Richard Branson briefly departed this world, only to make a feathery return back to Earth, landing on a hot, dusty runway in rural New Mexico. Although the VSS Unity has already completed three test missions without any serious incidents, traveling to space is a daring move for the 70-year-old, who has proven his willingness to cheat death on multiple occasions.Įnvironmentalists, however, are less impressed by his quest and boldness, or that of Jeff Bezos, fellow space enthusiast billionaire who will also make his extraterrestrial debut later this month. 11 July 2021 Watch Sir Richard Branson's flight to the edge of space (and back) Billionaire Sir Richard Branson has successfully reached the edge of space on board his Virgin Galactic rocket plane.