BackRichard Branson shares first video from space; here's what he said about Earth
Richard Branson on Sunday soared more than 50 miles above the New Mexico desert aboard his Virgin Galactic rocket plane that his company has been developing for 17 years
PremiumBritish billionaire Richard Branson, who has successfully reached the edge of space onboard his Virgin Galactic rocket plane, has described his experience in a short video.
The UK entrepreneur has called planet Earth an "indescribable beauty".
"How you feel when you look down on Earth is impossible to put into words, it’s just indescribable beauty. I can’t wait for you all to get up there," Branson wrote on Twitter.
Branson also shared a message, especially for children saying, "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".
In a blog post, Branson announced Virgin Atlantic's partnership with Omaze to open space for everyone. The billionaire said that he was planning to make space more accessible to all.
"My mission statement, which I wrote inside my spacesuit, is to turn the dream of space travel into a reality - for my grandchildren, for your grandchildren, for everyone," Branson said in a tweet.
Consequently, Branson said that any person who wish to travel to space can enter their details on Omaze.com/space.
"Every charitable donation goes to support Space For Humanity and you'll be entered into the Omaze sweepstake for the chance to win two seats aboard one of the first commercial Virgin Galactic spaceflights," Branson's blog post read.
Branson on Sunday soared more than 50 miles above the New Mexico desert aboard his Virgin Galactic rocket plane that his company has been developing for 17 years.
The trip was, he said, the "experience of a lifetime".
He returned safely to Earth just over an hour after leaving the ground.
The height reached by Richard in the rocket plane, known as Unity, was 85km (282,000ft; 53 miles).
The businessman was accompanied on the mission by the vehicle's two pilots, Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, and three Galactic employees - Beth Moses, Colin Bennett and Sirisha Bandla.
Virgin Galactic has said it plans at least two further test flights of the spaceplane in the months ahead before beginning regular commercial operation in 2022.
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