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Richard Branson takes off first in space tourism race Virgin Galactic Meet the crew joining Sir Richard Branson

Unity22 was lift off from New Mexico at 14:00BST Sunday, Aboard the Virgin Galactic flight will be (from left) Chief Pilot Dave Mackay, Lead Operations Engineer Colin Bennett, Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses, Founder of Virgin Galactic Richard Branson, Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations Sirisha Bandla and pilot Michael Masucci. (Photo: Virgin Galactic Site )

2 days until #Unity22! Watch the launch live this Sunday at 6am PT | 9am ET | 2pm BST with @StephenAtHome @thegreatkhalid @Cmdr_Hadfield @KellieGerardi @virgingalactic pic.twitter.com/tpjIqeVE0L

— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 10, 2021

It’s not just Sir Richard Branson who will see his dreams come true when he is launched into space aboard the Virgin Galactic spaceship on Sunday.

Some of those joining him on the company’s first fully-crewed flight will also be experiencing space for the first time.

Unity22 is set to lift off from New Mexico at 14:00BST in a launch that will be streamed live from the Virgin Galactic website.

70-year-old Sir Richard will be accompanied by passengers Beth Moses, Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut instructor; Colin Bennett, lead operations engineer at the company; and Sirisha Bandla, the vice president of government affairs and research operations.

Chief pilot Dave Mackay and pilot Michael Masucci, who have clocked up thousands of piloting hours between them, will be in the cockpit.

In a video posted online, the crew spoke of their excitement ahead of the trip.

Ms Bandla, whose role will be testing the researcher experience, said that when she first heard she would have the opportunity to join the flight, she was “speechless”.

“Ever since I got the news I was going to space I’ve been dreaming about it, so I’m just so excited,” she said.

Welcome Sirisha Bandla, Colin Bennett, and Beth Moses — our expert crew members joining @richardbranson on our #Unity22 test flight. Watch LIVE this Sunday at https://t.co/5UalYT7Hjb. @SirishaBandla @VGChiefTrainer pic.twitter.com/F4ZrGnH3vo

— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) July 5, 2021

Ms Bandla, who will be only the second Indian-born woman to fly into space, added: “This is an incredible opportunity to get people from different backgrounds, different geographies, different communities into space.”

Mr Bennett’s role on the spacecraft will be evaluating cabin procedures during boost and weightlessness.

The former student at Clevedon School in North Somerset said: “When I was younger I assumed that space was only available to a very select few.

“I had no idea myself that I would ever be in a position to go to space myself, but here I am.”

Ms Moses, cabin lead and test director, is the only veteran astronaut among the passengers after she became the first woman to make a flight on a commercially launched spaceship in February 2019.

In an interview with the BBC, she described how it felt to experience weightlessness on the voyage.

“It’s always a big joy, a big thrill, it’s sort of an instant laughter – you just feel light and free and wonderful,” she said.

She said the sight of Earth through the window was “stuck in my soul, it’s totally beautiful”.

Ms Moses remembers dreaming of going to space when she was young and hopes the flight will inspire others.

“It’s the little tiny kid looking up at the stars, the little girl making model rockets…we are here for something bigger than ourselves,” she said.

“The ultimate vision and dream is to one day have space travel for everyone.”

Sir Richard also answered a number of questions about the flight in a short series of videos on Twitter.

Asked what he will be doing at zero gravity, he said: “I’ll be looking back at earth and taking it all in, and realising that only 500 other people have ever done this.”

When the crew land, he said he would “celebrate with family, friends, grandchildren, children” with “a great, great grin on my face”