Sir Richard Branson has become the first billionaire to make it into space after the Virgin Galactic founder took off on a flight to the edge of earth's atmosphere in the VSS Unity plane today.
The British billionaire has beat rivals Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk with the historic and record-breaking stunt which played out as millions watched on a live stream from around the globe.
Branson was one of six Virgin Galactic Holding Inc employees who strapped in for the ride which the 70-year-old touted as a precursor to a new era of space tourism, with the company poised to begin commercial operations next year.
The crew are flying to the edge of space - nine days before 'rival' Jeff Bezos - on a craft built by Branson's own company after he declared it is 'time to turn my dream into reality'.
The 70-year-old, who was pictured cycling to the facility this morning where he was greeted by his crew mates, is the second oldest person to travel to space after 77-year-old John Glenn in 1998.
The billionaire entrepreneur told the Times earlier today the view alone will be worth the billion pounds he has spent on the project and added: 'I think it's one of the reasons that people want to become astronauts. They want to look back at this beautiful Earth.
Pictured: The Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo space plane Unity flies at Spaceport America, near Truth and Consequences, New Mexico on July 11, 2021 before travel to the cosmos with Sir Richard Branson onboard with five other crew members
The Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo space plane Unity flies at Spaceport America before travel to the cosmos
Take off: Sir Richard Branson and five Virgin Galactic crew members are onboard the VSS Unity which has now taken off
Spectators cheers as the Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo space plane Unity takes off at Spaceport America this afternoon
'Every astronaut I've known has come back determined that the rest of their lives will be spent working harder to protect the planet that we live on.'
Branson is travelling on VSS Unity, which launched from mothership VMS Eve at XXXXX with a live stream of the event starting at 3.30pm (09:00 ET) from Spaceport America in New Mexico.
The launch was delayed by 90 minutes due to bad weather in the area which arrived overnight which delayed the start of flight preparations.
Once it reaches 50,000 feet the carrier plane releases Unity, a reusable, winged spacecraft designed to carry six passengers and two pilots into space.
Once released Unity's rocket motor engages 'within seconds', according to Virgin Galactic.
The craft will then fly approximately three and a half times the speed of sound (2,600mph/4,300kph) into suborbital space, reaching up to 360,890ft (110,000 metres) above the Earth's surface.
Sir Richard Branson (left) is set to become the first billionaire to leave earth in a rocket today as he will join the crew of Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity which will launch from mothership VMS Eve on July 11, with a live stream of the event starting at 2pm
Sir Richard Branson has revealed the uniforms were deliberately designed to reflect his love of the Star Trek series. He is pictured with fellow crew members Dave Mackay, Colin Bennett, Beth Moses, Sirisha Bandla and pilot Michael Masucci
Always a fan of making an entrance, Sir Richard Branson was filmed arriving at the facility on his bike earlier today (pictured)
British billionaire Richard Branson waves as he arrives at a base in Las Cruces, New Mexico, ahead of the launch today
Richard Branson(L) receives some cards from children as he walks out from Spaceport America ahead of the launch today
He has been joined by chief pilot David Mackay, a Scottish-born test pilot for the Royal Air Force who went on to fly for Branson's Virgin Atlantic, and chief flight instructor Michael Masucci.
Also onboard is chief astronaut instructor Beth Moses, a former NASA engineer, lead operations engineer Colin Bennett and Sirisha Bandla, a company vice president. The six will grab a lift from mothership pilots C.J. Sturckow, a former NASA astronaut, and Kelly Latimer.
A discount travel service it is not. But demand is apparently strong, with several hundred wealthy would-be citizen astronauts already having booked reservations, priced at around £180,000 per ticket (around $250,000).
The Swiss-based investment bank UBS has estimated the potential value of the space tourism market reaching $3 billion annually by 2030.
Proving rocket travel safe for the public is key, given the inherent dangers of spaceflight.
An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.
Sir Richard's extraordinary trip is one week before his 71st birthday, and he was joined by five others on what has been dubbed the Unit 22 test flight - as it is the 22nd test flight for the spaceplane.
The British billionaire launched on the first of the three test flights carrying a full complement of 'astronauts' in the cabin, before they begin flying the first of 600 'future astronaut' ticket holders in 2022.
Branson is Astronaut 001 is travelling with Chief Astronaut Beth Moses (Astronaut 002), Lead Operations Engineer Colin Bennett (Astronaut 003) and VP of Government Affairs Sirisha Bandla (Astronaut 004) in the cabin.
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson, right, is greeted by school children before heading to the edge of space
Pilots walk out from Spaceport America before travel to the cosmos with British billionaire Richard Branson on board
Sirisha Bandla, Virgin Galactic's vice president of government affairs and research operations, arrives at the facility today
Pictured: Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic crew members enter the company's passenger rocket plane, the VSS Unity, in a previous inspection taken at Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, which was issued earlier this year
Virgin Galactic's passenger rocket plane, the VSS Unity, is seen in its hangar at Spaceport America in the state of New Mexico
Pictured: Inside the Virgin Galactic spacecraft with the seats rotated back while in space during a previous test flight
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