Did Richard Branson Really Go Into Space? Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson Says No
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On July 11, billionaire Richard Branson made the first tourist space flight in history. The VSS Unity flight of his company Virgin Galactic was destined for the border between Earth and space. Although the Briton reached a historic milestone, there are those who doubt that he has really traveled to space, and one of them is the famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, a disciple of Carl Sagan.
Related: Richard Branson Wants to Send You Into Space. Here We Explain How to Participate.
The spacecraft took off on Sunday around 8:40 a.m. (local time) from Spaceport America in New Mexico. After flying for an hour to an altitude of 15 kilometers, the spacecraft released the space plane carrying Richard Branson and the crew so that it could leave the Earth’s atmosphere.https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/core/bridge3.471.1_en.html#goog_475063041
The objective of the plane was to reach the limit between space and Earth, which would be 80 km high, as stipulated by the United States government. At this point, the sky turns from blue to black, the curvature of the planet can be seen, and it is possible to float in weightlessness.
After spending several minutes in orbit, VSS Unity successfully landed in New Mexico at 9:38 a.m. local time.