Richard Branson is not the first rich guy to travel to space, know who it was
Dennis Tito
All eyes are on Richard Branson as he prepares to go to space aboard VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo. The launch is due to take place on July 11 and Branson will be part of the crew that'll go to the edge of the space.
With this, Branson aims to give a fillip to the space travel market. But he is not the first rich guy to travel to space as a tourist.
That place is held by Dennis Tito, the US multimillionaire who became world's first paying space tourist in 2001. Tito had travelled to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard Russian Soyuz rocket. He reportedly shelled out a cool USD 20 million.
Tito still has fond memories of his space travel. In a quote to CNN, he said that he was "euphoric" when he travelled to the ISS, describing it as the "greatest moment" of his life. Nothing could beat that feeling, he said.
Richard Branson founded his company Virgin Galactic in 2004. At the time, it was thought that commercial space travel will be a common thing in 3-4 years.
17 years on and Branson is ready to fly to space himself. The launch will be streamed LIVE online.
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Click here to know how to watch the launch LIVE.