Houston, Texas: In just a few hours, billionaire business tycoon Richard Branson will make history as he blasts off aboard his own rocket ship – the Virgin Galactic VSS Unity – becoming the first billionaire to do so. Along with him will accompany his team of five space travellers, including Indian-born Sirisha Bandla. Branson would be marking a key milestone with his test flight, setting foot beyond earth ahead of Jeff Bezos, who owns the rival space venture Blue Origin. However, Virgin Galactic doesn’t expect to start flying customers before next year.
Virgin Galactic Space Flight Launch: How to Watch
Space enthusiasts have been sitting at the edge of their seats as Branson prepares for the exciting new journey. The launch of Virgin’s VSS Unity space flight will take place at 6 am PT and 9 am ET.
People in India awaiting to witness the space journey can live stream the event at 6:30 PM IST on Virgin Galactic’s official website.
The launch event can also be live-streamed through Virgin Galactic’s Twitter and Youtube handle. To make it simpler for our readers, here’s a live steam link.
Watch it LIVE:
The Unity 22 mission will be the twenty-second flight test for VSS Unity and the company’s fourth crewed spaceflight. It will also be the first to carry a full crew of two pilots and four mission specialists in the cabin, including the company’s founder, Sir Branson, who will be testing the private astronaut experience, Galactic said in a statement.
The six-team crew members include – Beth Moses, the title of Chief Astronaut Instructor at Virgin Galactic who will handle the training for all of the company’s future customers; lead operations engineer Colin Bennett; vice president of government affairs and research Sirisha Bandla, along with pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci.
Virgin Galactic reached space for the first time in 2018, repeating the feat in 2019 and again this past May, each time with a minimal crew. It received permission from the Federal Aviation Administration last month to start launching customers.