Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic Extend Spaceflight Ninety minutes, Still Plan To Make Records Sunday
Virgin Galactic and founder-passenger Richard Branson on Sunday delayed for ninety minutes their historical spaceflight however stated the exhibit will go on.
The brief flight from Spaceport America in Sierra County, New Mexico, was delayed to 10:30 a.m. ET.
"Overnight climate delayed the start of flight preparations, however we are on track to fly today with a newly scheduled time," Virgin Galactic tweeted early Sunday.
Branson, who turns 71 this week, and a crew of two pilots and three mission experts are set to launch from the air aboard the space airplane VSS Unity after being carried to high altitude by the plane VMS Eve. Unity will then use rocket power to fly to the boundary of space.
Virgin Galactic had deliberate the flight for later this summer time but moved it up after competitor Blue Origin and its founder, Jeff Bezos, announced plans to ride their rocket into space from West Texas on July 20.
Blue Origin, which in recent days has launched a social media campaign disparaging of Virgin Galactic, softened its tone Sunday, tweeting: "Wishing you a awesome flight tomorrow @virgingalactic!''
Branson and the crew should experience about 4 minutes of weightlessness before gliding returned to Earth. Following their landing, El Paso R&B singer-songwriter Khalid is scheduled to perform his new song "New Normal" on stage.
Virgin Galactic has plans for two more check flights before commercial service is expected to start in 2022. The company says more than 600 people already have signed up for flights at an estimated $250,000 per person.
My mission statement is to turn the dream of space travel into a actuality – for my grandchildren, for your grandchildren, for everyone," Branson tweeted hours before the scheduled flight.
Blue Origin has not begun to sell tickets but has dismissed Virgin Galactic's flight plans as failing to really attain space.