off from new mexico it was originally scheduled for 2pm uk time but has been delayed by an hour and a half because of the weather. it comes just nine days before another high profile entrepreneur the amazon founderjeff bezos is planning his own space launch. tim allman has more. billionaire entrepreneurs heading into space are a bit like buses. you wait ages and then two come along almost at once. first up, sir richard branson and his unity rocket plane. taking off from a spaceport in new mexico, the virgin galactic crew should reach a high of 50 miles, 80 km, above the earth s surface. according to nasa, that s where the atmosphere ends, so sir richard will officially become an astronaut. i ve always been a dreamer. my mum taught me to never give up and to reach for the stars. thisjuly, our dream
branson and his virgin galactic crew gearing up for tomorrow s groundbreaking launch. fire! reporter: the british billionaire set to lift off just nine days before jeff bezos takes his blue origin rocket to the edge of space. the 70-year-old daredevil will board virgin galactic s unity spaceplane for its fourth crewed test flight earlier than expected. the revved up timeline for branson sparking safety concerns. every single test flight we ve done, the last 22, have had people on board, and no one person is any real different than the other when it comes to safety. reporter: in 2014, virgin galactic lost one of its pilots during one of the company s test flights. the spacecraft broke apart and crashed into the mojave desert, killing a father of two young children. some painful moments in the last 17 years. some wonderful moments. but it s been 17 years of hard work. reporter: this mission, dubbed unity 22, is expected to last about 90 minutes. the spaceship unity attached t
along with two pilots and three other virgin galactic employees, were transported to the spaceship unity tethered to the mothership eve. then take off. this is the moment he s been waiting for. after more than 16 years, and hundreds of millions of pounds, sir richard branson is now on his way to space. that s so cool. so you can see the moment when they release right there. forjust under four minutes, they experienced weightlessness and enjoyed a view of planet earth that only astronauts can dream of. well, i ve done some ridiculous things in my lifetime. that was really, really, really ridiculous. but ijust can t wait for. ..one day to be able to experience this. it s the experience of a lifetime. and touchdown. safely back on earth after a 90 minute flight. critics call this a billionaire sjoyride,
in new mexico, here s sophie long. preparations were made before take off. about ten years, and an hour and a half behind schedule, in one of the most desolate areas of north america, a lifelong dream became reality. sir richard branson, along with two pilots and three other virgin galactic employees, were transported to the spaceship unity tethered to the mothership eve. then take off. this is the moment he s been waiting for. after more than 16 years, and hundreds of millions of pounds, sir richard branson is now on his way to space. that s so cool. so you can see the moment when they release right there. forjust under four minutes, they experienced weightlessness and enjoyed a view of planet earth that only astronauts can dream of. well, i ve done some ridiculous things in my lifetime. that was really, really, really ridiculous. but ijust can t wait for.
tom costello reports from new mexico, near the site of tomorrow s launch reporter: countdown in the new mexico desert the virgin galactic spaceship unity now mounted to its mother ship, primed, ready and rolled out nice and smoothly to zero g. it feels wonderful reporter: virgin galactic pilots giving their final briefings. to me, it s all about the view and it s absolutely amazing and it s spectacular. reporter: as richard branson and three fellow employees prepare to strap in for the journey of a lifetime release, release, release. reporter: that moment when unity drops from the mother ship. fire. fire. reporter: then rockets to more than 50 miles above the earth to what nasa calls the edge of space. fellow space billionaire elon musk tweeting we ll see you there to wish you the best. while, the jeff bezos blue origin team tweeted that branson and his passengers aren t going as high as bezos, so might not be considered true-civilian