Richard Branson

Virgin Galactic launched its first tourist passengers into the weightlessness of space Thursday, the culmination of a nearly two-decade commercial pursuit, the company said.

The three passengers -- Jon Goodwin, Keisha Schahaff, and her teenage daughter Anastatia Mayers - floated gravity-free through the Virgin spacecraft about 45 minutes after taking off.

Jeff Bezos blasted into space on July 20 on his rocket company's first flight with people on board, becoming the second billionaire in just over a week to ride his own spacecraft.

The Amazon founder was accompanied by a hand-picked group: his brother, an 18-year-old from the Netherlands and an 82-year-old aviation pioneer from Texas - the youngest and oldest to ever fly in space.

“It’s time to make my dream come true”, says Richard Branson

British billionaire Richard Branson was due on July 11 to climb into his Virgin Galactic passenger rocket plane and soar more than 50 miles above the New Mexico desert in the vehicle's first fully crewed test flight to the edge of space.

Space tourism no longer looks that far. At this point, 573 is the number of people who flied into the space, but projections suggest that it will increase many times over. Over time, it seems more and more realistic that not only the wealthiest will be able to live out what has been reserved for seriously trained astronauts for decades.

Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters hit out at Richard Branson on Feb. 18 over plans to hold a humanitarian aid concert to benefit Venezuelans suffering from shortages of food and medicines.

Sir Richard Branson plans to fly into space at the latest in 6 months, while his Virgin Galaxy project will do so earlier, after three, reports Metro.

The British billionaire hopes to sell USD 250,000 priced tickets to space tourists. Among the first enrolled is Professor Stephen Hawking.

One of the most popular businessmen in the world - Richard Branson, will visit Bulgaria to present a business lecture. The event will be held on May, 19 in Hall 1 of NDK, according to bTV.

The tickets for the Branson's lecture are already on sale. The cheapest tickets are on price BGN 180, while the most expensive are BGN 500.

Freed from the constraints of the White House, former President Barack Obama is surfing up a storm — on a kiteboard.
Obama tried out the water sport, which is a cross between surfing and paragliding, while on vacation in the Virgin Islands.

During day eight of their tropical vacation, the Obamas were carefree and upbeat as they enjoyed the afternoon with their billionaire friend and host Richard Branson in the British Virgin Islands.