Invalid Date, SIR Richard Branson has declared "the dawn of a new space age" after successfully blasting off on a groundbreaking space mission. The 70-year-old made history by beating Elon Musk to become the first billionaire in space, before safely returning to earth in his Virgin Galactic rocket plane. �� Read our Richard Branson space flight live blog for the latest updates... 16 Billionaire Richard Branson smiles on board VSS Unity before starting its untethered ascent to the edge of spaceCredit: Reuters 16 Virgin Galactic's passenger rocket plane VSS Unity, carrying billionaire Richard Branson and crew, starts its ascent to the edge of space above Spaceport AmericaCredit: Reuters