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Richard Branson to be Astronaut 001 in Virgin Spaceflight on July 11

Aerospace company Virgin Galactic just announced its first fully crewed spaceflight and its founder, Richard Branson, will be among the mission’s specialists, beating to the punch Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos.
Richard Branson launches to space in Unity 22 test mission 7 photos
Photo: Virgin Galactic/YouTube
Crew of Virgin Galactic's Unity 22 missionUnity 22 Chief Pilot Dave MackayUnity 22 Pilot Michael MasucciUnity 22 Astronaut Sirisha BandlaUnity 22 Astronaut Colin BennettUnity 22 Astronaut Beth Moses
Branson will be Astronaut 001 in the 22nd test flight of the VSS Unity spacecraft, called Unity 22. The crew will consist of six members, Branson included.

There will be two pilots and four mission specialists. Dave Mackay will be the chief pilot to fly the spacecraft, assisted by pilot Michael Masucci, who will be at his second spaceflight.

Unity 22’s main goal is to focus on cabin and customer experience. Branson will be one of the four specialists in the crew and will be in charge of evaluating the customer spaceflight experience. The researcher experience will be tested by astronaut Sirisha Bandla. Cabin procedures during boots and weightlessness will be assessed by astronaut Colin Bennett, while astronaut Beth Moses will have the role of spaceship cabin lead and test director.

This spaceflight is Branson’s dream coming true, as admitted by the man himself. Virgin Galactic’s founder also teased another exciting announcement, which will be revealed when he returns to Earth.

The Unity 22 test mission is scheduled for July 11, barring any unforeseen circumstances such as technical issues or bad weather. You can watch the live stream of the event on Virgin Galactic’s website as well as on its Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter channels. The stream will begin on the day of the flight at 7:00 am MDT (Mountain Daylight Time) / 9:00 am EDT (Eastern Daylight Time).

Branson’s short trip to space comes just ahead of the one announced by Blue Origin’s founder Jeff Bezos, who is scheduled to fly on its company’s first passenger flight on July 20, aboard the New Shepard rocket. Bezos will be accompanied by his brother, the winner of the Blue Origin auction, and 82 years old Wally Funk.

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About the author: Cristina Mircea
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Cristina’s always found writing more comfortable to do than speaking, which is why she chose print over broadcast media in college. When she’s not typing, she also loves riding non-motorized two-wheelers, going on hikes with her dog, and rocking her electric guitars.
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