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Richard Branson ready to go to space this weekend: What you need to know
In the early hours on Sunday, July 11th, Richard Branson will make history as the first billionaire to go into space. He will be aboard Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity, a spaceplane made by his company Virgin Galactic.
His flight will reach more than 50 miles above the surface of the earth, which by the US government, is considered the boundary of outer space.
The event will be live-streamed by Virgin Galactic and will be hosted by the famous host Stephen Colbert. Grammy-nominated singer Khalid will also reportedly debut his new song when Branson lands back on earth. Needless to say, all eyes will be on the event tomorrow.
Along with Richard, three other Virgin Galactic employees will be aboard the plane: Beth Moses, Colin Bennett, and Sirisha Bandla.
The flight will take off, like a normal pane via a runway, from Hot Springs, New Mexico. VSS Unity will be attached to a mothership which will take it to a height of 50,000 feet. Post which the plane will detach itself from the mothership and swoop into space with a speed greater than sound.
On July 20th, another billionaire, Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos is also scheduled to make his maiden trip to space onboard a spaceship made by his company Blue Origins.