Sir Richard Branson rockets to the edge of space

Onboard his Virgin Galactic rocket jet, billionaire Sir Richard Branson successfully reached the edge of space.

In the vehicle that his business has been constructing for 17 years, the UK entrepreneur sailed high above New Mexico in the United States.

He described the journey as a “one in a lifetime experience.” He and his team have safely returned to Earth.

It puts him ahead of Tesla’s Elon Musk and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos as the first of the space tourism pioneers to reach space.

We’re waiting for formal confirmation of Sir Richard’s height, but it appears to be 85 kilometres (282,000ft; 53 miles).

Unity’s two pilots, Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, as well as three Galactic staffers, Beth Moses, Colin Bennett, and Sirisha Bandla, accompanied him on the journey.

Approximately 600 people have already paid deposits for tickets worth up to $250,000 (£180,000).

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