TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, New Mexico — A
twin-fuselage jet took off on Sunday carrying a
Virgin Galactic rocket plane
and reached space with British billionaire Richard Branson aboard in the
vehicle's first fully crewed test flight to space.
اضافة اعلان
Branson, one of six Virgin Galactic Holding Inc. employees
strapping in for the flight, has touted the mission as a precursor to a new era
of space tourism, with the company he founded poised to begin commercial
operations next year.
Sunday's high-altitude launch of the VSS Unity rocket plane
marks the company's 22nd test flight of its SpaceShipTwo system, and its fourth
crewed mission beyond Earth's atmosphere. It is also the first to carry a full
complement of space travelers — two pilots and four "mission
specialists," Branson among them.
A week away from his 71st birthday, Branson and his
crewmates walked onto the tarmac of New Mexico's Spaceport America waving to a
throng of onlookers before boarding waiting Unity rocket plane parked at the
end of a taxiway.
Video posted online by Virgin Galactic showed Branson
earlier arriving at the spaceport on his bicycle and greeting his crewmates
with a hug.
A festive gathering of space industry executives, future
customers, and other well-wishers were on hand to witness the launch event,
which was live streamed in a presentation introduced by late-night television
host Stephen Colbert. Among those present was fellow billionaire and space
industry pioneer Elon Musk, who also is founder of electric carmaker Tesla Inc.
Grammy-nominated R&B singer Khalid was due to take the
stage after the flight to perform a forthcoming single "New Normal."
The gleaming white spaceplane was borne aloft attached to
the underside of a specially designed twin-fuselage carrier jet VMS Eve — named
for Branson's late mother, which took off at around 10:40am EDT (1430 GMT).
With the engine shut down near the peak of its climb, the
craft will then be shifted into reentry mode before gliding back to a runway
landing at the spaceport. The entire flight, from takeoff to touchdown, should
take about 90 minutes.
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