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The Unity VSS during the Unity 21 mission to the Edge of Space.
Galactic Virgo
Richard Branson, the 70-year-old billionaire behind space tourism company Virgin Galactic, is no stranger to making headlines – he’s once driven a tank down Fifth Avenue promoting a new brand of cola. His most recent and perhaps most extreme endeavor is to fly into space aboard the company’s rocket, known as VSS Unity.
On Sunday, Branson will launch into the stratosphere (and a little beyond) on his spaceship and here’s how you can tune in and watch it unfold.
It’s been a long road for Virgin Galactic. Seventeen years after the dream of taking people into space came true, Branson’s SpaceShipTwo is ready to take its owner above the clouds. The mission, dubbed Unity 22, will be available to stream via the CNET Highlights YouTube channel. You can watch on YouTube or below, right here.
Coverage will start at 6 a.m. PT (9 a.m. ET) on Sunday, July 11.
What is it in other time zones?
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 10:00 a.m.
- London, UK: 2:00 p.m.
- Johannesburg, South Africa: 3 p.m.
- Moscow, Russia: 4:00 p.m.
- Dubai, United Arab Emirates: 5:00 p.m.
- New Delhi, India: 5.30 p.m.
- Beijing, China: 9:00 p.m.
- Tokyo, Japan: 10:00 p.m.
- Sydney, Australia: 11 o’clock in the evening
The flight will last approximately 90 minutes, with the WhiteKnightTwo twin-fuselage aircraft carrying the Branson Space Ferry (VSS Unity) in the clouds. From there, Unity’s rocket motor will ignite, seeing it ascend to a total height of about 90 kilometers where the crew will experience weightlessness in microgravity. It will be a particularly historic moment for the ambitions of the ultra-rich to reach the outer reaches of space.
After the mission, a press conference is scheduled around 8:30 a.m. PT (11:30 p.m. ET).
CNET Science writer Eric Mack will be in the field at Virgin’s Spaceport America in the lead-up to the mission. We’ll have coverage of Branson’s rise to space, and you can also get behind-the-scenes updates and details by following Eric on Twitter and Instagram. @EricCMack. And Branson isn’t the only billionaire to make it to space this month. Former Amazon boss Jeff Bezos to pilot first crewed Blue Origin rocket in space on July 20.
Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic: see the space dream come to life
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Check back to CNET on Sunday or sign up for the Science newsletter above to get all the space billionaire content you need.
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