The V.S.S. Unity will lift off from New Mexico on Sunday morning as billionaire entrepreneurs race to make spaceflight unexceptional.
Richard Branson is finally getting his trip to space on Sunday. It has been a very long wait for Mr. Branson, the irreverent,70-year-old British billionaire who leads a galaxy of Virgin companies. In 2004, he founded Virgin Galactic to provide adventurous tourists with rides on rocket-powered planes to the edge of space and back. At the time, he thought commercial service would begin in two to three years. Instead, close to 17 years have passed. Virgin Galactic says it still has three more test flights to conduct, including the one on Sunday, before it can be ready for paying passengers. For this flight, Mr. Branson will be a member of the crew. His task is to evaluate the cabin experience for future customers. The flight is scheduled to take off on Sunday morning from Spaceport America in New Mexico, about 180 miles south of Albuquerque. Virgin will broadcast coverage of the flight beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern time, with Stephen Colbert hosting the livestream.
