Virgin Galactic’s Branson climbs into space on a rocket plane made by Reuters
By Steve Gorman
TRUTH OR CONCLUSIONS, NM (Reuters) – British billionaire Richard Branson climbed more than 50 kilometers from the New Mexico desert on Sunday on a Virgin Galactic rocket and safely returned to space with his first vehicle equipment, a landmark project he started 17 years ago.
Branson, one of six employees at Virgin Galactic Holding Inc., has taken on a mission linked to the trip, taking it as a pioneer of the new space tourism era, with the company he founded in 2004 with the intention of starting commercial operations next year.