One giant step for Virgin: Richard Branson claims he'll fly to space in JULY to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing

  • British billionaire says that he plans to travel to space within four or five months
  • His wish is to go up on the anniversary of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission landing 
  • Virgin Galactic along with Blue Origin is working on sending tourists into space
  • They want to send hundreds of people on these short 'suborbital' flights
  • Other space flight companies like SpaceX are also working towards this goal 
Richard Branson claims he wants to travel to space within the next four or five months aboard his Virgin Galactic spaceship.
The British entrepreneur says that he hopes to make his first voyage coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing in 1969.  
He also claims that the spaceflight company are still on target to send tourists into on short 'suborbital' flights by the end of next year. 
Speaking at an event in Washington, he said: 'My wish is to go up on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, that's what we're working on.'.
The American Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20th, 1969.
British billionaire Richard Branson, pictured here, plans to travel to space within the next four or five months aboard his own Virgin Galactic spaceship. Virgin Galactic is one of two companies, along with Blue Origin, on its way to sending passengers into space 
British billionaire Richard Branson, pictured here, plans to travel to space within the next four or five months aboard his own Virgin Galactic spaceship. Virgin Galactic is one of two companies, along with Blue Origin, on its way to sending passengers into space 
Earlier this year, the 69-year-old said he is training hard for the mission, and told CBS that his 'aim is to have the body of a 30-year-old' when he goes to space. 
Virgin Galactic is working along with Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk's SpaceX company towards the same goal of being the first to send passengers into space 'by 2020' in a new type of race dubbed the 'billionaire space race'.
The companies want to send people on these short suborbital flights, meaning they wouldn't get high enough to orbit the earth. 
Branson has previously announced dates for this first trip into space, though many have gone by without voyages happening. 
In 2013, he declared on a radio station that a Virgin Galactic space flight will be on Christmas Day 2013, and he will be on board. 'Maybe I'll dress up as Father Christmas,' he joked. 
Christmas day 2013 came and went without this flight or a sighting of the billionaire in a Santa suit taking place. 
In October 2017, he told a Finnish business conference that the craft would be in space in 'about three months'. 
A view from the edge of space is seen from the cockpit of Virgin Galactic's manned space tourism rocket plane SpaceShipTwo during a space test flight over Mojave, California. Virgin Galactic is working along with Blue Origin, which also belongs to Branson on its way to sending passengers into space 'by 2020
A view from the edge of space is seen from the cockpit of Virgin Galactic's manned space tourism rocket plane SpaceShipTwo during a space test flight over Mojave, California. Virgin Galactic is working along with Blue Origin, which also belongs to Branson on its way to sending passengers into space 'by 2020
The Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo. Last year, the unmanned Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo reached the edge of space for the first time, in a milestone accomplishment for Branson's space tourism endeavours
The Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo. Last year, the unmanned Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo reached the edge of space for the first time, in a milestone accomplishment for Branson's space tourism endeavours
Speaking at an event in Washington, here, Branson said: 'My wish is to go up on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, that's what we're working on.'. The American Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20th, 1969
Speaking at an event in Washington, here, Branson said: 'My wish is to go up on the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, that's what we're working on.'. The American Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20th, 1969
Last year, the unmanned Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo reached the edge of space for the first time, in a milestone accomplishment for Branson's space tourism endeavours.  
The craft reached a boundary more than 50 miles above Earth for the first time, after blasting off on a critical flight test in the Mojave Desert.  
In any case, the achievement puts Virgin well ahead of its competitors - Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin - who have yet to carry crew to a point so high using their passenger craft. 
Mike Taylor, of the Spaceflight Programme at the UK Space Agency told Mail Online: 'We are in a new commercial space age, where entrepreneurs not only fuel the imagination but inspire investment. 
'The space sector is a great British success story and we are working closely with industry to ensure we can take advantage of exciting commercial opportunities. 
The 69-year-old (center) said he is training hard for the mission, and told CBS that his 'aim is to have the body of a 30-year-old' when he goes to space. Virgin Galactic is working along with Blue Origin, which also belongs to Branson on its way to sending passengers into space 'by 2020'
The 69-year-old (center) said he is training hard for the mission, and told CBS that his 'aim is to have the body of a 30-year-old' when he goes to space. Virgin Galactic is working along with Blue Origin, which also belongs to Branson on its way to sending passengers into space 'by 2020'
'The Government has put in place legislation to make it possible to launch small satellites and conduct sub-orbital flights from the UK and is supporting domestic spaceports, including by providing £31.5 million to help establish launch services from Sutherland in Scotland.' 
Virgin Galactic's SpaceshipTwo can be seen as it takes off for a suborbital test flight of the VSS Unity on December 13, 2018, in Mojave, California. Branson is in a race with SpaceX founder Elon Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to be the first to send paying tourists into space
Virgin Galactic's SpaceshipTwo can be seen as it takes off for a suborbital test flight of the VSS Unity on December 13, 2018, in Mojave, California. Branson is in a race with SpaceX founder Elon Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to be the first to send paying tourists into space
 Virgin Galactic, which is charging £190,000 ($250,000) for a spot on one of its commercial flights, has previously said it would send passengers to space in 2019. His new claims time the businessman claims preparations are in their final stages
Virgin Galactic, which is charging £190,000 ($250,000) for a spot on one of its commercial flights, has previously said it would send passengers to space in 2019. His new claims time the businessman claims preparations are in their final stages
Branson is in a race with SpaceX founder Elon Musk and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to be the first to send paying tourists into space.
Virgin Galactic, which is charging £190,000 ($250,000) for a spot on one of its commercial flights, has previously said it would send passengers to space in 2019.
His new claims time the businessman claims preparations are in their final stages.
'By July we should have done enough testing,' he said. 
But he doesn't want to make any promises he can't keep: 'I need to wait for our team to say they're 100 per cent happy. I don't want to push them,' he said. 
According to Branson, the SpaceShipTwo's next test flight is planned for February 20, depending on weather conditions.  
‘Today, for the first time in history, a crewed spaceship, built to carry private passengers, reached space,’ Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson said from the flight line after the successful flight. One of the pilots can be seen in the cockpit above during the flight
'Today, for the first time in history, a crewed spaceship, built to carry private passengers, reached space,' Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson said from the flight line after the successful flight. One of the pilots can be seen in the cockpit above during the flight
 The aerospace firm's SpaceShipTwo craft reached a boundary more than 50 miles above Earth on Thursday morning after blasting off on a critical flight test in the Mojave Desert. To do this, the company had to push its rocket motor to the longest burn duration yet, 'resulting in us going higher than we have before'
The aerospace firm's SpaceShipTwo craft reached a boundary more than 50 miles above Earth on Thursday morning after blasting off on a critical flight test in the Mojave Desert. To do this, the company had to push its rocket motor to the longest burn duration yet, 'resulting in us going higher than we have before'

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