The tax exile has pipped Jeff Bezos to the title of first billionaire in space. You can watch the monumental ego trip in the video atop this article. Branson’s 1.5-hour journey reached an apex of around 89kms — just above NASA’s benchmark for granting astronaut wings. The Virgin Galactic founder then spent a few minutes pointlessly floating around at zero gravity. For those who’d hoped he’d stay in space, I regret to inform you that this was a return flight.
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 11, 2021 Branson was one of six people in the Virgin Galactic crew. The tycoon had the crucial role of “evaluating the customer spaceflight experience.” He now hopes to “open space to everybody.” But don’t expect to reach the cosmos any time soon: tickets for a trip with Virgin Galactic cost up to $250,000. Branson nonetheless proved that anything is possible (if you’re unspeakably rich). You could even accomplish feats that space agencies achieved 60 years ago. To his credit, Bezos magnanimously congratulated his space rival on the trip. But his rocket company had a painful dig at Branson’s plans. Blue Origin tweeted that anyone who flies on Virgin Galactic’s Unity will have “an asterisk next to their name” because they wouldn’t reach the “internationally recognized” 100km altitude where space begins. Ouch.
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) July 9, 2021 The Virgin vehicle is, however, a better-looking beast to my eyes. Blue Origin’s spaceplane, by contrast, is unimaginatively phallic. But that’s a fitting shape for a penis-measuring contest.
