Richard Branson Did NOT Reach Space? Billionaire's Tour Raises Questions After Safe Return
Richard Branson successfully flew and return to Earth during his team's first crewed spaceflight. However, the distance they reached caused people to question whether they really traveled outside the Earth.
The recent weekend became historical for Virgin Galactic founder Branson as he and his crewmates managed to trek to the edge of space.
Branson and the other Virgin Galactic employees boarded the SpaceShipTwo plane (or the VSS Unity) and spent roughly 50 minutes on air after takeoff. To be exact, the single rocket engine sent them 53.5 miles above the ground before traveling back to land.
However, even before their successful flight, their destination raised questions on whether they actually went to space.
Richard Branson Did Not Reach Space?
Before the space travel, Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith told The New York Times that Branson and his team were not flying above the Kármán line.
I was once a child with a dream looking up to the stars. Now I'm an adult in a spaceship looking down to our beautiful Earth. To the next generation of dreamers: if we can do this, just imagine what you can do https://t.co/Wyzj0nOBgX #Unity22 @virgingalactic pic.twitter.com/03EJmKiH8V
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 11, 2021
According to National Geographic, Hungarian physicist Theodore von Karman theorized that the boundary between Earth and space. However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration redefined it and set the "imaginary boundary" to 62 miles.
NBC News officially reported that Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) recognized 62 miles as the Kármán line.
With that said, Branson may not be the first billionaire to ever reach space. Jeff Bezos plans to fly above that point with New Shepard on July 20.
However, it is worth noting that the crew of VSS Unity in 2019 received astronaut-wing badges from the Federal Aviation Administration. NASA also awards the same to pilots who fly above 50 miles.
Branson's Journey To Space Wasn't Easy
The recognition paid for their hard work for years, especially since the company lost lives as they prepared for its first-ever crewed flight.
In 2007, an engine test for SpaceShipTwo claimed the lives of three workers. Branson's company also had the first version of the space plane called VSS Enterprise. In October 2014, it killed co-pilot Michael Asbury and injured Peter Siebold while on mid-flight above the Mojave desert.
These disasters caused Branson to move back his plans to ride SpaceShipTwo between 2014 and 2015.
Fortunately, they have had continuous successful flights since 2016. Before the Sunday flight, VSS Unity pilots drove the plane to the edge of space and back thrice since December 2018.
