Truth or Consequences (USA): Richard Branson of ‘Virgin Galactic’ came back safely on Sunday on a space journey through his rocket. The spacecraft took off from the southern desert of New Mexico at 8.40 a.m. local time. Five employees of the company also took off with Branson. Branson had suddenly announced space travel on Twitter recently. The purpose of his flight is to promote space tourism, for which more than 600 people are already waiting.
Britain’s Virgin Group founder Branson will turn 71 in a week. He was unlikely to fly until the end of this summer, but after Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos announced on July 20 that he would go into space on his rocket from West Texas, Branson has already decided to go to space.
Along with Branson, Indian-origin Sirisha Bandla has also returned from space travel. Sirisha Bandla is an officer associated with government affairs and research work in the Virgin Galactic Company. She hails from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. Sirisha Bandla also oversees Virgin Orbit’s Washington operations.
Instead of the capsule-based booster rockets by Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, ‘Virgin Galactic’ is using a different type of vehicle. This spacecraft will take it to an altitude of about 44,000 feet and the motor in the vehicle will transport the other part to space. During this, the astronauts will feel weightlessness for three to four minutes. Virgin Galactic first launched into space in 2018.
