‘Experience Of A Lifetime': Billionaire Branson Achieves Space Dream

SPACEPORT AMERICA, United States – British billionaire Richard Branson flew into space Sunday aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel, a voyage he described as the “experience of a lifetime” – and one he hopes will usher in an era of lucrative space tourism.

The mission's success allowed the swashbuckling septuagenarian to one-up fellow tycoon JeffBezos – who owns space company Blue Origin and is set to launch on July 20 — in the race to the final frontier.

“I have dreamt of this moment since I was a kid, but honestly nothing could prepare you for the view of Earth from space,” Branson said, grinning during a post-flight ceremony where he and crewmates received their astronaut wings, before popping open the champagne to celebrate.

Branson, three fellow passengers and two pilots (all Virgin employees) breached the US-recognized boundary of space, reaching an altitude of 53.5 miles (86 kilometers) and experiencing weightlessness for a few minutes aboard the VSS Unity.

The spaceplane then lowered its wings and glided down to the ground at around 9:40 a.m. Mountain Time (1540 GMT), about an hour after it had taken off attached to the belly of a massive carrier plane, which ascended 10 miles (15 kilometers) before dropping its payload.

The rocket-powered Unity achieved a top speed of Mach 3 as it soared to space.