Amazing Virgin Galactic video shows Richard Branson's Unity 22 crew soaring into space

Virgin Galactic has unveiled a dramatic new video of its billionaire founder Richard Branson and five others launching into suborbital space on company's VSS Unity spacecraft and it looks like a heck of a ride.

The clips from Virgin Galactic show highlights of the 90-minute flight that successfully launched  to suborbital space Sunday (July 11) from Spaceport America in New Mexico.

The video opens with cockpit views of Branson and fellow passengers, listening to a countdown until VSS Unity is released from its carrier plane, VSS Eve. Moments later, a view from below shows the engine of the spaceplane firing to bring the crew on a suborbital parabola above the Earth's atmosphere.

Related: Virgin Galactic launches Richard Branson to space in 1st fully crewed flight
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Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson soars like Superman while in weightlessness during his Unity 22 launch on the SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity on July 11, 2021. (Image credit: Virgin Galactic)

As the engine shuts off, the camera view switches to a dramatic view below the spacecraft, showing the deserts of New Mexico and nearby regions. 

Of the group, only Moses had been to space before, during a 2019 flight, although the definition of space can vary depending on if you consult the U.S. military, NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (which together, recognize a boundary at 50 miles or 80 km in altitude) or the internationally recognized Kármán line at 62 miles or 100 km. All Virgin Galactic spaceflights to date have been below the Kármán line, but above the 50-mile mark.

The 70-year-old Branson peers out the window in the video, then gives a small speech reflecting upon the nearly 52-year wait he had to be an astronaut since watching the Apollo 11 astronauts land on the moon in 1969. 

"To all you kids down there, I once was a child with a dream looking up to the stars. Now, I'm among them in a spaceship," said Branson, a billionaire who founded Virgin Galactic in 2004 to open up private spaceflight to more people while giving himself the chance to become an astronaut, too. (Ticket prices remain high at $250,000 a seat, although Virgin Galactic announced a contest to bring two members of the public into space in 2022.)

Related: What to know about Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Unity 22 launch

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity launches billionaire Richard Branson and a crew of five others to suborbital space and back in a flight from Spaceport America, New Mexico on July 11, 2021. (Image credit: Virgin Galactic)

"If we can do this, just imagine what you can do," Branson adds, as his crew members gleefully (and carefully) bounce off the walls of the spacecraft nearby. The usually athletic Branson, who rode to the launch pad on a bike, appears to prefer carefully balancing just above the seats while floating, repeatedly crying "Oh my God" before proclaiming "This is just too unbelieveable."

As views of the Earth and sun below float by the windows, the crew finishes up their four minutes of weightlessness with more window-gazing; in the case of Bandla, there's a brief glimpse of her manipulating the tube containing a NASA-funded experiment by the University of Florida to study plant behavior in microgravity. Future Virgin Galactic spaceflights will also fly such experiments to do microgravity research.

The pilots then issue a command to the crew to return to their seats and strap in for re-entry. The video closes with VSS Unity soaring once again above Spaceport America en route to a touchdown. In the closing seconds, Branson enthusiastically gives a double-thumbs up to the camera.

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Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace