**Richard Branson's Historic Spaceflight: Unity 22**

On July 11th, Virgin Galactic's spaceship 2, Unity, is set to embark on its 22nd flight test mission, codenamed Unity 22. This marks the fourth uncrewed flight test for the rocket-powered space plane VSS Unity and the fourth commercial spaceflight for Virgin Galactic. For Branson, this mission represents his third attempt at reaching space, a feat he has been trying to accomplish for several years.

**A History of Thrill-Seeking and Record-Breaking**

Richard Branson is no stranger to taking risks and pushing boundaries. As the founder of Virgin Group, he has always been drawn to innovation and adventure. In 1985, he attempted to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a power boat, an endeavor that was frequently referred to as a disaster when it sank off the southwest coast of England. However, Branson persevered and successfully set the world record for crossing the ocean by power boat. He has also crossed the Pacific Ocean via hot air balloon and attempted to circumnavigate the globe in a balloon on multiple occasions.

**Virgin Galactic's Spaceplane: A Story of Evolution**

In 2004, Virgin Galactic was formed as a spin-off from Branson's existing space tourism company, Virgin Sub Orbital Systems. The spaceship 2, which would eventually become Unity, was unveiled in 2009 and designed for space tourism. In 2013, Virgin Galactic completed its first self-powered flight, marking an important milestone in the development of commercial spaceflight.

**The Accident and Recovery**

In 2014, Virgin Galactic suffered a setback when one of its test pilots, Mike Alsbury, was killed during a crash of spaceship 2 in the Mojave Desert. The accident marked a significant blow to the company's progress, but Branson remained committed to pursuing his vision for commercial spaceflight.

**Recent Developments and the Future of Space Tourism**

In 2018, Virgin Galactic celebrated its first human spaceflight since the final Space Shuttle mission in 2011. Although the flights did not reach low Earth orbit, they marked an important step forward in the development of commercial space tourism. With Unity 22, Branson is set to evaluate the private astronaut experience and provide feedback to enhance future missions.

**The Competition: Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin**

Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is also making headlines with its upcoming crewed mission on July 20th. The ship, named New Shepard, will be the first crewed mission for Blue Origin, marking a significant milestone in the company's development of commercial spaceflight capabilities.

**A Brief History of Virgin Galactic**

For those unfamiliar with Virgin Galactic, let's take a brief look at its history. Founded in 1970 as a mail-order record business, Virgin Records went on to become one of the most successful music labels in history. Over the years, the company expanded into various fields, including Virgin Megastores, Virgin Atlantic, and Virgin Hyperloop.

**The Mission: A Live Stream and Highlights**

CNET.com and our YouTube channel will be live streaming the Unity 22 mission, providing real-time coverage of Branson's historic spaceflight. Our highlights channel will also feature post-mission analysis and discussion of the significance of this milestone in commercial space tourism.

**A Look Back at Previous Spaceflights**

Several monkeys, dogs, and even frogs have beaten both Branson and Bezos to space. Who knows what other surprises await us as we push the boundaries of human exploration?

**The Mission Timeline**

Date: July 11th

Time: TBA (subject to change)

Location: Virgin Galactic's Spaceport in Mojave, California

Mission Objective: Evaluate the private astronaut experience and gather feedback for future missions

We will be tracking Branson's mission live from our studio, providing updates and analysis throughout the flight. Stay tuned for this historic moment in commercial space tourism!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: envirgin's richard branson plans to be the first billionaire in space thereby beating jeff bezos by a few days let's talk about it the plan is for branson to hit a ride on virgin galactic's spaceship 2 unity on july 11th the mission is called unity 22 this is the 22nd flight test for the rocket-powered space plane vss unity this is the fourth crude virgin spaceflight this would also be the first time branson would get to space something he's been trying to do for several years on whether he's trying to beat amazon's jeff bezos to space branson said that quote it really doesn't matter whether one of us goes a few days before the other the timing does seem a little strange though bezos had already announced his intent to travel to space his travel date is set for july 20th branson was not originally scheduled to be on the flight on july 11th his announcement also happened on the same day bezos announced that wally funk would join him on his flight funk was a part of a group of women who passed the same tests as early nasa astronauts but richard branson wants to go to space and he happens to be the founder of the space travel company virgin galactic so he's headed to space if you're unfamiliar with richard branson let's give you a little bio he founded virgin way back in 1970 the company sold records as in vinyl records through the mail at low prices over the years virgin grew to include virgin records virgin megastores virgin atlantic virgin hyperloop and virgin brides that last one is not what you think it was a failed bridal store here are pictures of branson in a wedding dress to prove it richard branson is kind of a thrill seeker and a record seeker in 1985 he tried to cross the atlantic ocean in record-breaking fashion in a power boat that attempt is frequently called a disaster as the ship sunk off the southwest coast of england in 1986 branson tried again this time he successfully set the world record he's crossed the atlantic and pacific oceans via hot air balloon he's also tried to go around the world in a balloon a couple of times but that didn't work out branson is also the oldest person to kite surf across the english channel while he's doing all this stuff branson is also building the virgin empire and in 2004 virgin galactic is formed its spaceship 2 space plane was unveiled in 2009 that vehicle was designed for space tourism virgin galactic's first self-powered flight happened in 2013. here's how spaceship 2 works it's attached to another aircraft called white knight 2. spaceship 2 is then carried to a launch altitude by white knight 2. when that altitude is reached spaceship 2 is released then spaceship 2 goes into the upper atmosphere using its rocket engine spaceship 2 completed 54 test flights between 2009 and 2014. in 2014 branson said that he hoped to be on the first commercial flight either in 2014 or 2015. everything has not been perfect with virgin galactic in 2014 spaceship 2 crashed during a test flight in the mojave desert the accident claimed the life of one of the pilots mike allsbury virgin galactic kept going in 2018 the company celebrated the first human space flight since the final space shuttle mission in 2011. it's worth noting that virgin galactic's flights do not enter low earth orbit but reach about 90 kilometers in altitude a couple of years later it looked like branson was going to space what year was that 2020 yeah that got scrapped due to the pandemic that brings us to now july 11th is the date branson is scheduled to head to space this is virgin galactic's first fully crewed flight test it will have two pilots and four mission specialists which includes branson what will he do up there the press release says branson will evaluate the private astronaut experience the company will use his observations from his flight training and space flight experience to enhance their journey for all future astronaut customers meanwhile jeff bezos is heading to space on july 20th the ship is called new shepard and it's the first crewed mission for blue origin bezos's company all the other blue origin missions have had no humans inside on july 20th the whole blue origin mission is expected to last 10 to 15 minutes how long will richard branson's mission last well a test flight in may lasted a little over an hour from takeoff to landing whereas blue origin is automated virgin galactic has human pilots at the controls so the virgin galactic flight has a bit of flexibility we will be live streaming the unity 22 mission at cnet.com and our highlights channel on youtube i'm i as actor reminding you that several monkeys dogs and frogs have beaten both branson and bezos to spacevirgin's richard branson plans to be the first billionaire in space thereby beating jeff bezos by a few days let's talk about it the plan is for branson to hit a ride on virgin galactic's spaceship 2 unity on july 11th the mission is called unity 22 this is the 22nd flight test for the rocket-powered space plane vss unity this is the fourth crude virgin spaceflight this would also be the first time branson would get to space something he's been trying to do for several years on whether he's trying to beat amazon's jeff bezos to space branson said that quote it really doesn't matter whether one of us goes a few days before the other the timing does seem a little strange though bezos had already announced his intent to travel to space his travel date is set for july 20th branson was not originally scheduled to be on the flight on july 11th his announcement also happened on the same day bezos announced that wally funk would join him on his flight funk was a part of a group of women who passed the same tests as early nasa astronauts but richard branson wants to go to space and he happens to be the founder of the space travel company virgin galactic so he's headed to space if you're unfamiliar with richard branson let's give you a little bio he founded virgin way back in 1970 the company sold records as in vinyl records through the mail at low prices over the years virgin grew to include virgin records virgin megastores virgin atlantic virgin hyperloop and virgin brides that last one is not what you think it was a failed bridal store here are pictures of branson in a wedding dress to prove it richard branson is kind of a thrill seeker and a record seeker in 1985 he tried to cross the atlantic ocean in record-breaking fashion in a power boat that attempt is frequently called a disaster as the ship sunk off the southwest coast of england in 1986 branson tried again this time he successfully set the world record he's crossed the atlantic and pacific oceans via hot air balloon he's also tried to go around the world in a balloon a couple of times but that didn't work out branson is also the oldest person to kite surf across the english channel while he's doing all this stuff branson is also building the virgin empire and in 2004 virgin galactic is formed its spaceship 2 space plane was unveiled in 2009 that vehicle was designed for space tourism virgin galactic's first self-powered flight happened in 2013. here's how spaceship 2 works it's attached to another aircraft called white knight 2. spaceship 2 is then carried to a launch altitude by white knight 2. when that altitude is reached spaceship 2 is released then spaceship 2 goes into the upper atmosphere using its rocket engine spaceship 2 completed 54 test flights between 2009 and 2014. in 2014 branson said that he hoped to be on the first commercial flight either in 2014 or 2015. everything has not been perfect with virgin galactic in 2014 spaceship 2 crashed during a test flight in the mojave desert the accident claimed the life of one of the pilots mike allsbury virgin galactic kept going in 2018 the company celebrated the first human space flight since the final space shuttle mission in 2011. it's worth noting that virgin galactic's flights do not enter low earth orbit but reach about 90 kilometers in altitude a couple of years later it looked like branson was going to space what year was that 2020 yeah that got scrapped due to the pandemic that brings us to now july 11th is the date branson is scheduled to head to space this is virgin galactic's first fully crewed flight test it will have two pilots and four mission specialists which includes branson what will he do up there the press release says branson will evaluate the private astronaut experience the company will use his observations from his flight training and space flight experience to enhance their journey for all future astronaut customers meanwhile jeff bezos is heading to space on july 20th the ship is called new shepard and it's the first crewed mission for blue origin bezos's company all the other blue origin missions have had no humans inside on july 20th the whole blue origin mission is expected to last 10 to 15 minutes how long will richard branson's mission last well a test flight in may lasted a little over an hour from takeoff to landing whereas blue origin is automated virgin galactic has human pilots at the controls so the virgin galactic flight has a bit of flexibility we will be live streaming the unity 22 mission at cnet.com and our highlights channel on youtube i'm i as actor reminding you that several monkeys dogs and frogs have beaten both branson and bezos to spacevirgin's richard branson plans to be the first billionaire in space thereby beating jeff bezos by a few days let's talk about it the plan is for branson to hit a ride on virgin galactic's spaceship 2 unity on july 11th the mission is called unity 22 this is the 22nd flight test for the rocket-powered space plane vss unity this is the fourth crude virgin spaceflight this would also be the first time branson would get to space something he's been trying to do for several years on whether he's trying to beat amazon's jeff bezos to space branson said that quote it really doesn't matter whether one of us goes a few days before the other the timing does seem a little strange though bezos had already announced his intent to travel to space his travel date is set for july 20th branson was not originally scheduled to be on the flight on july 11th his announcement also happened on the same day bezos announced that wally funk would join him on his flight funk was a part of a group of women who passed the same tests as early nasa astronauts but richard branson wants to go to space and he happens to be the founder of the space travel company virgin galactic so he's headed to space if you're unfamiliar with richard branson let's give you a little bio he founded virgin way back in 1970 the company sold records as in vinyl records through the mail at low prices over the years virgin grew to include virgin records virgin megastores virgin atlantic virgin hyperloop and virgin brides that last one is not what you think it was a failed bridal store here are pictures of branson in a wedding dress to prove it richard branson is kind of a thrill seeker and a record seeker in 1985 he tried to cross the atlantic ocean in record-breaking fashion in a power boat that attempt is frequently called a disaster as the ship sunk off the southwest coast of england in 1986 branson tried again this time he successfully set the world record he's crossed the atlantic and pacific oceans via hot air balloon he's also tried to go around the world in a balloon a couple of times but that didn't work out branson is also the oldest person to kite surf across the english channel while he's doing all this stuff branson is also building the virgin empire and in 2004 virgin galactic is formed its spaceship 2 space plane was unveiled in 2009 that vehicle was designed for space tourism virgin galactic's first self-powered flight happened in 2013. here's how spaceship 2 works it's attached to another aircraft called white knight 2. spaceship 2 is then carried to a launch altitude by white knight 2. when that altitude is reached spaceship 2 is released then spaceship 2 goes into the upper atmosphere using its rocket engine spaceship 2 completed 54 test flights between 2009 and 2014. in 2014 branson said that he hoped to be on the first commercial flight either in 2014 or 2015. everything has not been perfect with virgin galactic in 2014 spaceship 2 crashed during a test flight in the mojave desert the accident claimed the life of one of the pilots mike allsbury virgin galactic kept going in 2018 the company celebrated the first human space flight since the final space shuttle mission in 2011. it's worth noting that virgin galactic's flights do not enter low earth orbit but reach about 90 kilometers in altitude a couple of years later it looked like branson was going to space what year was that 2020 yeah that got scrapped due to the pandemic that brings us to now july 11th is the date branson is scheduled to head to space this is virgin galactic's first fully crewed flight test it will have two pilots and four mission specialists which includes branson what will he do up there the press release says branson will evaluate the private astronaut experience the company will use his observations from his flight training and space flight experience to enhance their journey for all future astronaut customers meanwhile jeff bezos is heading to space on july 20th the ship is called new shepard and it's the first crewed mission for blue origin bezos's company all the other blue origin missions have had no humans inside on july 20th the whole blue origin mission is expected to last 10 to 15 minutes how long will richard branson's mission last well a test flight in may lasted a little over an hour from takeoff to landing whereas blue origin is automated virgin galactic has human pilots at the controls so the virgin galactic flight has a bit of flexibility we will be live streaming the unity 22 mission at cnet.com and our highlights channel on youtube i'm i as actor reminding you that several monkeys dogs and frogs have beaten both branson and bezos to space\n"