Virgin Galactic already has more than 600 reservations from would-be space tourists, with tickets initially costing $250,000 apiece. The launch with Branson marked the 22nd test flight of Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity space plane. Branson had teased a major announcement about ferrying more people to space following his flight, which some expected would be an announcement about Virgin Galactic reopening ticket sales. Instead, upon his return to Earth Sunday, Branson announced a sweepstakes drawing for just two seats on a Virgin Galactic jaunt. Branson edged out billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of rival space tourism company Blue Origin, as the first person to blast off in his own spaceship.

Source: ABC News July 12, 2021 18:11 UTC