Truth or Consequences, New Mexico (Associated Press)-bluffing billionaire Richard Branson rushed into space on his own winged rocket ship on Sunday, bringing astronomy tourism closer to reality and defeating him as extremely wealthy Competitor Jeff Bezos.

The nearly 71-year-old Branson and five crew members of his Virgin Galactic Space Travel Company reached an altitude of 53.5 miles (86 kilometers) above the New Mexico desert—enough to experience three to four minutes of weightlessness and witness the earth— Then glide home and land on the runway.

“The whole thing, it’s amazing,” the jubilant Branson said as he returned from the gleaming white space plane called Unity.

The short up and down flight—the spaceplane section took only about 15 minutes, or about as long as Alan Shepard’s first U.S. space flight in 1961—is a striking and unremarkable feature of Virgin Galactic. To disguise the commercial plug, it plans to start charging customers for a ride next year.

Branson became the first person to take off on his own spacecraft, nine days before Bezos, the richest man on earth. He also became the second man in his seventies to enter space. In 1998, 77-year-old astronaut John Glenn took the space shuttle.

Bezos congratulated him and added: “I can’t wait to join the club!”-even though he listed on Twitter a few days ago that he believed his company’s tourist attractions would be better.

Approximately 500 people were watching, including Branson’s family, and the Unity was lifted by a twin-fuselage aircraft. Then, at an altitude of approximately 8 1/2 miles (13 kilometers), the Unity broke away from the mothership and started the engine. When it pierced the edge of space, its speed exceeded Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound.

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When the rocket plane landed on the earth, the audience cheered, jumped into the air and hugged each other. Branson waved his fist as he walked onto the runway and ran to his family, the bear hugged his wife and children, and his grandson in his arms.

Mike Moses, an executive at Virgin Galactic, said that apart from some problems with the transmission of video images from inside the cabin, the flight was perfect and the ship looked pristine.

“This is a remarkable achievement,” former Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who was the commander of the International Space Station, said from the sidelines. “I’m very happy what this open door will bring now. This is a great moment.”

Virgin Galactic has conducted three space test flights before, with only two to three crew members.

The founder of Virgin Atlantic, who was born in London and was a personable Virgin Atlantic, was supposed to take off later this summer. But after Bezos announced plans to send his rocket from Texas into space on July 20, the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, he assigned himself to an earlier flight. . Branson denied that he tried to surpass Bezos.

Another major competitor of Branson in the world’s richest man in the space travel race, SpaceX’s Elon Musk, came to New Mexico to watch and congratulate Branson on his “beautiful flight.”

Bezos’ Blue Origin company intends to send tourists across the so-called Carmen Line 62 miles (100 kilometers) above the Earth, which is recognized by the International Federation of Aeronautics and Astronautics as a threshold for space.

But NASA, the Air Force, the Federal Aviation Administration, and some astrophysicists believe that the boundary between the atmosphere and space starts at 50 miles (80 kilometers).

The risks facing Branson and his crew were highlighted in 2007, when a rocket engine test in the Mojave Desert in California resulted in the deaths of three workers. In 2014, a Virgin Galactic rocket plane broke during a test flight, causing One pilot died and the other was seriously injured.

As a performer, Branson insisted on the global live broadcast of the flight on Sunday morning and invited celebrities and former space station astronauts to the company’s US Spaceport base in New Mexico. R&B singer Khalid performed his new single “New Normal”-a tribute to the dawn of space tourism-and CBS “The Evening Show” host Stephen Colbert acted as the emcee.

Before boarding the spacecraft, Branson, who had kitesurfed the English Channel and tried to travel the world in a hot air balloon, signed the astronaut log and said wittily: “This name is Branson. Richard Branson Sir. Astronaut double oh one. Exciting license.”

But when asked later if he plans to take another risk, Branson said he “definitely will take a short break” because “I’m not sure if it’s fair to let my family experience it again.” He said that he thought he was kept under control. A record of the helicopter pulling out of the sea five times.

Virgin Galactic already has more than 600 reservations from space travelers, and the initial ticket price was US$250,000 per person. After returning to Earth, Branson announced a lottery to draw two seats for the Virgin Galactic excursion. Blue Origin is waiting for Bezos’ flight before announcing the fare.

Kerianne Flynn signed with Virgin Galactic in 2011, and she won the butterfly before launching on Sunday.

“I think there is nothing more interesting than climbing there and looking back at the earth. This is where I am most excited,” she said. She added: “I hope the next generation can explore what’s there.”

Both Blue Origin and Musk’s SpaceX use Apollo-style flights, using capsules on top of rockets instead of reusable space planes launched from the air.

SpaceX is already sending astronauts into the space station and building moon and Mars spacecraft for NASA, and it plans to allow tourists to travel more than just briefly. On the contrary, customers will be in orbit around the earth for several days, and the cost of seats can reach millions. The company’s first private flight is scheduled for September.

Musk himself did not promise to enter space in the short term.

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The Associated Press Department of Health and Science is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. AP is solely responsible for all content.

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Dunn reports from Cape Canaveral, Florida.