Finally tonight, the most adventurous billionaire ever - Richard Branson - hurtled into space aboard his own rocket ship on Sunday. This means space tourism is one step closer to reality. There has been a "rivalry" between Jeff Bezos, who is also going to blast off aboard his Blue Origin rocket ship, and Branson. And this time, he successfully beat out his rival. Here's a recap at the first ever space trip that literally opened the door to space tourism.
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Branson's own winged rocket ship took off from an airport in Truth or Consequences in New Mexico, as the 500 enthralled spectators on the ground watched on.
The rocket ship departed around 30 minutes later than the scheduled departure time.
The thrill-seeking Branson flew into space alongside five crewmates from his Virgin Galactic space-tourism company.
The spacecraft was released from its carrier plane and headed straight to space.
"3, 2, 1 - release, release, release. Clean release. Ignition."
Having reached the altitude of 86 kilometers over the New Mexico desert, which was already enough to experience three to four minutes of weightlessness and witness the curvature of the Earth, 71-year-old Branson shared a few words on board the spacecraft.
"I've done some ridiculous things in my lifetime. That was truly, truly, truly ridiculous. I just can't wait for...one day to be able to experience it. It's a complete experience of a lifetime." Said Branson.
The flight's duration was just about 15 minutes.
All's well that ends well. Despite all those problems that befell on him when making his own spaceship, the moment he had been looking forward to finally came - spectators cheered as his rocket plane touched down on Earth. Check marking the box of completing a space tour off his bucket list was Branson, who stepped out of the spaceship and ran towards his family, embracing his wife and children and scooping up his grandchildren in his arms. Feelings were running high as he finally completed the world's first-ever space tour.
Jeff Bezos, the American business magnate who recently resigned as CEO of Amazon, congratulated him on that.
NASA will award Branson and his crewmates astronaut wings.
The risks initially outweighed the benefits and all the never-before-seen experiences because a rocket motor test in California back in 2007 left three workers dead. And in 2014, an accident in which a Virgin Galactic rocket plane broke apart during a test flight killed one pilot and seriously injured the other. Be that as it may, being the first person to pay a visit to space on a space tour, Branson said space really worth a visit.
Branson said he will get some rest for the time being when asked afterward if he has any adventurous plans.
Meantime, SpaceX is now planning to take tourists on more than just a short trip to space.
This space tour has literally opened the door to space tourism. As such, Virgin Galactic already has more than 600 reservations from would-be space tourists. But, the tickets are now being considered gifts to those well-off, because each ticket costs $250,000 USD.
This never-before-seen space tour has made space tourism one step closer to literally becoming a reality. That's why many who are well-off enough are looking forward to paying a visit to the magnificent space.
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