This article is from the source 'rtcom' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.rt.com/usa/528912-branson-unity-test-flight/

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Billionaire Branson soars to edge of space in his Unity rocket plane Billionaire Branson soars to edge of space in his Unity rocket plane
(about 2 months later)
Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is launching its first fully crewed suborbital mission. The company is in a race with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to secure a share of the lucrative emerging space tourism market.Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic is launching its first fully crewed suborbital mission. The company is in a race with Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to secure a share of the lucrative emerging space tourism market.
Branson and five other people are riding the VSS Unity, an air-launched rocket plane, for a 90-minute flight voyage to the outer reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. The mothership, VMS Eve, is based at Virgin Galactic's Spaceport America in New Mexico, the same location where the VSS Unity is set to land.Branson and five other people are riding the VSS Unity, an air-launched rocket plane, for a 90-minute flight voyage to the outer reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. The mothership, VMS Eve, is based at Virgin Galactic's Spaceport America in New Mexico, the same location where the VSS Unity is set to land.
The test flight comes just nine days before the first crewed flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule. The company launched barbs at its competition shortly before its test, implying that Virgin Galactic’s plane is not actually a spaceship and saying that New Shepard offers a better experience to customers.The test flight comes just nine days before the first crewed flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule. The company launched barbs at its competition shortly before its test, implying that Virgin Galactic’s plane is not actually a spaceship and saying that New Shepard offers a better experience to customers.
If you like this story, share it with a friend!If you like this story, share it with a friend!
Dear readers and commenters,
We have implemented a new engine for our comment section. We hope the transition goes smoothly for all of you. Unfortunately, the comments made before the change have been lost due to a technical problem. We are working on restoring them, and hoping to see you fill up the comment section with new ones. You should still be able to log in to comment using your social-media profiles, but if you signed up under an RT profile before, you are invited to create a new profile with the new commenting system.
Sorry for the inconvenience, and looking forward to your future comments,
RT Team.