China News Service, July 12, reported that on the 11th local time, Richard Branson, the founder of British Virgin Galactic, returned to Earth safely after taking a space tour on his own spacecraft, saying that the flight was " An unforgettable experience of a lifetime".

  According to reports, Branson’s Virgin Spacecraft VSS Unity landed at the U.S. Spaceport in New Mexico. He said through a live broadcast: “Congratulations to all the outstanding team members of our Virgin Galactic company, they 17 The unremitting efforts over the years have made our dreams come true today."

Image source: Screenshot of Branson's social media account.

  According to the report, the "Unity" was launched over New Mexico on the 11th. Two pilots piloted the spacecraft carrying the billionaire founder and three Virgin Galactic employees.

After being released at an altitude of about 15 kilometers above the ground, the "Unity" started its rocket engine and climbed to the edge of space after accelerating to more than the speed of sound.

  Subsequently, the "Unity" performed a slow backflip in microgravity, and the crew and passengers in the spacecraft floated in a weightless environment.

The aircraft then glides back to the atmosphere and landed on the runway from which it had previously taken off.

  According to the report, the "Unity" reached an altitude of about 85 kilometers above the earth, which is the boundary between the earth and space recognized by agencies such as NASA, which is enough for passengers to experience weightlessness and appreciate the contours of the earth.

  Branson's ultimate goal is to promote the development of space tourism, but he also hopes to "win the game" and get ahead of competitors-Amazon and Blue Origin's founder Bezos, and become the first space travel company to go to space in person boss.

  The company previously said that about 600 tickets for future space travel have been booked, each priced between 200,000 and 250,000 U.S. dollars.