tech2 News StaffJul 12, 2021 16:37:39 IST
Yesterday, Richard Branson crossed the imaginary boundary of space and spent 11 minutes experiencing life as an astronaut. He also earned his astronaut wings, pinned to his outfit by Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield. The six-member crew was launched from the Spaceport America base in New Mexico at 8:00 pm IST.
Branson was joined by three fellow passengers and two pilots (all Virgin employees) on the spacecraft and breached the US-recognised boundary of space. They reached an altitude of 86 kilometres and experienced weightlessness for a few minutes aboard the VSS Unity.
The spaceplane then lowered its wings and glided to the ground at around 9:10 pm IST, about an hour after it had taken off attached to the belly of a massive carrier plane, which ascended 15 kilometres before dropping its payload.
At an altitude of about 13 kilometres, Unity detached from the mothership and fired its engine, breaching Mach 3 (or three times the speed of sound) as it shot into space.
Also read: Dream of a lifetime: 70-yr-old virgin galactic owner Richard Branson set to fly into space
A Star Trek fan, the 70-year-old founder of the Virgin Group attributed his drive and taste for adventure to his mother Eve, who recently passed away due to COVID-19 in January.
“Dear Mum, you always told me to reach for the stars. Well, I took my own winding road, but I always knew to follow your lead,” he said in a video tribute that aired before the VSS Unity spaceplane took off.
During the post-flight ceremony, he said, “I have dreamt of this moment since I was a kid, but honestly nothing could prepare you for the view of Earth from space.”
Also read: An aerospace engineer explains what is a suborbital flight and why they matter
The launch sent Twitterati into a tizzy. While some people were all about celebrating this new frontier, others weren’t really on board (pun intended).
A rich guy flew in a rocket plane. Let’s move on.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) July 11, 2021
Add Branson to this… pic.twitter.com/wqXpLNed7X
— Dana Smith (@meezerluv2014) July 11, 2021
I have dreamt about this moment since I was a child, but going to space was more magical than I ever imagined https://t.co/Wyzj0nOBgX #Unity22 @virgingalactic pic.twitter.com/grs7vHAzca
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 11, 2021
Congratulations, beautiful flight!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 11, 2021
Billionaire tax evaders and carbon emitters Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos really need to read the room.
We want you to pay higher taxes, not fly higher rockets.
— Lindy Li (@lindyli) July 11, 2021
Thank you @richardbranson and team for inspiring our children and grandchildren to aim for the moon, the stars, and Mars! What a great day for the US, the UK, and the space race. https://t.co/UHVEqEfqb8
— Cathie Wood (@CathieDWood) July 12, 2021
We are all coming together collectively for a historic cultural moment and Richard Branson is in outer space with no one giving a shit. So beautiful.
— shon faye. (@shonfaye) July 11, 2021
The flight attendants on Richard Branson’s space adventure agreed: “He’s really rich and not very bright. One of us should marry him” pic.twitter.com/SOjVvLFbFz
— Paul Rudnick (@PaulRudnickNY) July 11, 2021
I love the fact that Richard Branson has become the first civilian billionaire in space and absolutely nobody gives a fuck.#ComeOnEngland
— David Harewood (@DavidHarewood) July 11, 2021
None of the networks that broadcast live today the “Virgin Galactic Launches Richard Branson Into Space” story persuaded me that this was break-into-regular-programming news. The event remained at infomercial level.
— Jay Rosen (@jayrosen_nyu) July 11, 2021
Congratulations to @richardbranson and the @virgingalactic team. A big day for space! https://t.co/w2WPz4FUpl
— Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) July 11, 2021
While people are livid about the football score, I thought I’d give 5 reasons why I’m livid about @richardbranson‘s space trip… pic.twitter.com/B4qV1sHmgy
— Holly-Anna Petersen (@HollyAPetersen) July 11, 2021
Congratulations to @richardbranson and the @virgingalactic team for making it to space today! pic.twitter.com/M9aht6y0xU
— Mike Massimino (@Astro_Mike) July 11, 2021
Anyway. Setting aside everything else for a moment, we can all unite behind the hilarious fact that Richard Branson chose today to shoot himself into space, and nobody gave a toss. Or even noticed.
— Nicholas Pegg (@NicholasPegg) July 11, 2021
I wonder did Richard Branson actually go into space pic.twitter.com/r4YjyRO3Vh
— William (Billy) Hunt (@On_Da_Ball3) July 11, 2021
So the brief space journey of #RichardBranson was quite a feat. But what did it accomplish? Why would the ordinary person be interested in paying $200,000 for such a trip? Just to float around? The view? Honest question…
— Father Edward Beck (@FrEdwardBeck) July 11, 2021
Another dream comes true for an ambitious person and team to achieve the impossible
Yet, on the other side of the world, some are still dreaming about having 12 hours of continuous electricity!
♥️#RichardBranson#SpaceX #virgingalatic https://t.co/wqUB0SJOvu
— |طـارق (@Tarek_76_) July 11, 2021
I was once a child with a dream looking up to the stars. Now I’m an adult in a spaceship looking down to our beautiful Earth. To the next generation of dreamers: if we can do this, just imagine what you can do https://t.co/Wyzj0nOBgX #Unity22 @virgingalactic pic.twitter.com/03EJmKiH8V
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 11, 2021
On the one hand, I greatly admire the innovation.
But on the other hand, I am conflicted because space will be a new luxury destination for billionaires only.#RichardBranson
— Jennifer Lloyd (@JEVLloyd) July 11, 2021
The only space I want is the space in my brain currently occupied about my anxiety re: access to healthcare, food, shelter, and my fear of being forced to care about outer space, Richard Branson. https://t.co/sHAKUJLsTM
— kathryn she/her/hers (@kgarv) July 12, 2021
Thank you @richardbranson and team for inspiring our children and grandchildren to aim for the moon, the stars, and Mars! What a great day for the US, the UK, and the space race. https://t.co/UHVEqEfqb8
— Cathie Wood (@CathieDWood) July 12, 2021
To the next generation of dreamers.
If we can do this, imagine what you can do.
– Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic#VirginGalactic https://t.co/nuUZyw5ikB— Great Visaka Sripravet (@gr8vs) July 12, 2021
“Richard branson va al espacio”
La humanidad: pic.twitter.com/BKwHDQrAWQ
— kristian bob (@kristianbob) July 12, 2021
Branson doesn’t even live here, Bernie.
“Time to tax billionaires”: Bernie Sanders on Richard Branson’s space flight https://t.co/9zy5YZgqpP #politics #feedly
— Aggressively Black Bianca (@TheeKHiveQueenB) July 12, 2021
This reminds me of a terrific quote from @richardbranson ‘s autobiography “The brave may not live forever – But the cautious do not live at all” https://t.co/5sbgwMBoJh
— Anita (@Mathematics2001) July 12, 2021
Spectacular, indeed. Congratulations to the @VirginGalactic team on the successful launch of #Unity22 — your first fully-crewed test flight to space! Onward and upward: https://t.co/Xwdf3OuHu1
— NASA (@NASA) July 11, 2021
“To all you kids down there…” – @RichardBranson‘s message from zero gravity. #Unity22
Watch the livestream: https://t.co/5UalYT7Hjb pic.twitter.com/lYXHNsDQcU
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) July 11, 2021
We visited Virgin Galactic back in 2018. Flew the simulator. Looked like it was going to fly well. And it did. Congratulations to All! pic.twitter.com/QDP6GfyFh4
— Bill Nye (@BillNye) July 11, 2021
Big day ahead. Great to start the morning with a friend. Feeling good, feeling excited, feeling ready.
Watch #Unity22 launch and livestream TODAY at 7:30 am PT | 10:30 am ET | 3:30 pm BST.@virgingalactic @elonmusk https://t.co/1313b4RAKI pic.twitter.com/FRQqrQEbH8
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 11, 2021
Love to see Richard Branson, who begged for a gov bailout for his airline, makes millions off privatising the NHS, runs the worst trains, being lauded on the news as some kind of hero, for almost making it into space, in the midst of a climate crisis.
— getcapewearcapefly (@forgetcape) July 11, 2021
Richard Branson should also not come home
— shon faye. (@shonfaye) July 11, 2021
Barney: Hey Kurt do you know where Richard Branson parks his spaceship?
Me: No, Barney. Where does Richard Branson park his spaceship?
Barney: At a parking meteor, of course.”
♂️❤️
Oh Barney….
Have a great Monday and I’ll you on #GoodDayColumbus. pic.twitter.com/ePVpocbYf3— Kurt Ludlow (@KurtWSYX6) July 12, 2021
Yesterday Richard Branson flew 88kms into space to experience 3-4 minutes of weightlessness
I experience here it on earth every month when I file my GST returns
— Atul Khatri (@one_by_two) July 12, 2021
The world changed, yesterday. In the dawn of a new era, Richard Branson reminded us that the future belongs to people who see possibilities before they become obvious. #TheMorningNugget pic.twitter.com/ADGFAsnjbC
— Alex Busingye (@Doc_Alex_B) July 12, 2021
These were the two defining visuals of yesterday. Beyond the photos let’s see the gruelling hours of work, heart breaks, resilience, perseverance & courage. Let that be the guiding force to dream big & pursue our dreams. #Djokovic #RichardBranson #successmindset #mondaythoughts pic.twitter.com/x6LluP4hri
— Rajita Bagga (@RajitaBagga) July 12, 2021
#RichardBranson going safely to space – heralds a new age. When billionaires and leaders are willing to put their skin in the game – public trust in the space tech is heightened
Exciting times ahead -when you could evntually book space tickets like airline tickets in a few years pic.twitter.com/03tiBEbxE5— CoviBuddy Srijan (@srijanpalsingh) July 12, 2021
With inputs from Agencies
