Richard Branson, British billionaire, set to blast off on Virgin Galactic spaceflight

Branson will be making the space trip aboard his company Virgin Galactic’s passenger rocket plane, the VSS Unity. The spacecraft will be borne by a twin-fuselage carrier jet dubbed VMS Eve (named for Branson’s mother). Photos shared by Virgin Galactic on social media showed the gleaming white spaceplane, all set to make its debut flight up to an altitude of 50,000 feet hoisted on the jet, where it will be released for the rest of its journey through the outer fringe of the Earth’s atmosphere.

Richard Branson will be accompanied by pilots Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, flying the VSS Unity. Pilots CJ Sturckow and Kelly Latimer will also be there flying the VMS Eve.