Sir Richard Branson — PICS

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July 11, 2021 12:46PM EDT

See photos of billionaire CEO Richard Branson, who finally realized his dream of going to space.

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Sir Richard Branson

Sir Richard Branson — Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English billionaire, who is known as a business magnate, investor, author, and now astronaut. He founded the Virgin Group in the 1970s, which now controls more than 400 companies in a variety fields. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneur at a young age and first dreamed of going to space after watching the Apollo moon landings. He founded Virgin Galactic in 2004, and finally achieved his dream of going to space in his company’s spacecraft VSS Unity on July 11.

The voyage made him the first of the billionaire space company founders to venture out in his own spacecraft, beating the likes of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk. “It’s a beautiful day to go to space,” the entrepreneur turned adventurer tweeted the morning of the historic flight. Scroll through to see more photos of Richard.

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Richard Branson Takes Flight

Richard Branson Takes Flight — Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of Virgin Galactic, launched aboard the company’s first fully crewed suborbital flight of its SpaceShipTwo spaceplane on July 11, 2021. The Unity22 mission served as a test flight as the company prepares to offer the experience of space to consumers.

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Richard Branson Prepares For A Historic Flight

Richard Branson Prepares For A Historic Flight — Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson waves good bye while heading to board the rocket plane that will fly him to space from Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

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Richard Branson Prepares For Launch

Richard Branson Prepares For Launch — Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson is greeted by school children before heading to board the rocket plane that will fly him to the edge of space from Spaceport America.

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Richard Branson Goes To Space

Richard Branson Goes To Space — Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of Virgin Galactic, launched aboard the company’s first fully crewed suborbital flight of its SpaceShipTwo spaceplane on July 11, 2021. The Unity22 mission served as a test flight as the company prepares to offer the experience of space to consumers. He was joined by Dave Mackay, Chief Pilot, Colin Bennett, Lead Operations Engineer, Beth Moses, Chief Astronaut Instructor, Sirisha Bandla, Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations, Michael Masucci, Pilot.

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Sir Richard Branson At Necker Island

Sir Richard Branson At Necker Island — Sir Richard Branson on his home, Necker Island, in the British Virgin Islands. The island has been looked to as collateral for a government bailout of his Virgin-branded business.

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Richard Branson In 2007

Richard Branson In 2007 — Business magnate Sir Richard Branson is all smiles on November 17, 2007 in Istanbul, Turkey. He is the founder of Virgin Group, which comprises more than 400 companies.

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Richard Branson In Canada

Richard Branson In Canada — Richard Branson wears a leather jacket as he arrives at TED Talks Conference in Vancouver, Canada.

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Sir Richard Branson In 2021

Sir Richard Branson In 2021 — Sir Richard Branson attends the Virgin Hotels ‘Las Vegas Unstoppable Weekend’ Grand Opening. He was all smiles on stage at the June 2021 event.

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Richard Branson Launches Virgin Airlines

Richard Branson Launches Virgin Airlines — Richard Branson launches Virgin Airlines. His business model was based on offering cheap fares across the Atlantic.

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Richard Branson at Virgin Records

Richard Branson at Virgin Records — Richard Branson at Virgin Records. In this pic, he posed in his office at his company’s London headquarters.

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Richard Branson In 1981

Richard Branson In 1981 — Businessman Richard Branson is all smiles in this 1981 snap. He rocked a pair of white pants, a button down, and a cardigan.

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