American billionaire Richard Branson arrived in space in his own spaceship.

Truth or Consequence-Arrogant entrepreneur RichardBranson flew into space in his winged rocket spacecraft on Sunday, defeating billionaire Jeff Bezos.

The 71-year-old Branson and five crew members of his Virgin Galactic Space Tourism Company reached an altitude of 53 miles (85 kilometers) above the New Mexico desert-enough to experience weightlessness for three to four minutes and witness the curvature of the earth-and then glided safely to the runway for landing.

"The whole thing, it's just magical," said a cheerful Branson, after traveling home, on a shiny white space plane called Unity.

this short up-and-down flight-the space plane only took about 15 minutes, that is, Alan Shepard's first space flight in the United States in 1961-is a commercial plug that Virgin Galactic plans to bring joy to paying customers next year.

Branson became the first person to take off in his own spaceship, nine days later than Bezos. He is also the second seven-year-old man to go into space. In 1998, astronaut JohnGlenn)77 flew in the space shuttle at the age of 77.

Bezos congratulated Bezos and added, "I can't wait to join the club!" Although he listed Be on Twitter a few days ago, I believe his company's bus ride will be a better way.

under the supervision of about 5 people, including Branson's family, Unity was lifted into the sky under a twin-fuselage plane. Then, at an altitude of about 8 1 2 miles (13 kilometers), Unity left the mother ship and launched the engine, reaching the speed of sound above Mach 3, or three times, because it pierced the edge of space.

when the rocket plane landed, the audience cheered, jumped into the air and hugged. Branson stepped onto the runway and ran to his family, holding his wife and children, holding his three grandchildren in his arms and waving his fists.

Mike Moses, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said that apart from some problems in transmitting video images from the cabin, the flight was perfect and the ship looked primitive.

"This is an amazing achievement," former Canadian astronaut ChrisHadfield, who was the commander of the International Space Station, said on the sidelines. "I'm glad to see what this open door will bring." This is a great moment. "

Virgin Galactic has previously conducted three space test flights with two or three astronauts.

The domineering London-born founder of Virgin Atlantic Airlines didn't start flying until this summer. But after Bezos announced that he planned to launch himself from Texas in his own rocket on July 2th, the 52nd anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the moon, he started an earlier flight. Branson denied that he tried to surpass Bezos.

Branson's other main competitor in the space tourism competition is the richest man in the world. ElonMusk of SpaceX came to New Mexico to watch Branson's "beautiful flight" and congratulated him.

Bezos' Blue Origin Company intends to send tourists over 62 miles (1 kilometers) of the earth on the so-called Kaman Line, which is recognized by the International Federation of Aeronautics and Astronautics as the threshold for entering space.

But NASA, the Air Force, the Federal Aviation Administration and some astrophysicists believe that the boundary between the atmosphere and space begins at 5 miles (8 kilometers).

In 27, a rocket engine test in Mojave Desert, California killed three workers. In 214, a Virgin Galactic rocket plane disintegrated during the test flight, one pilot died and another pilot was seriously injured, which highlighted the risks Branson and his crew faced.

Branson, a former entertainer, insisted on broadcasting the flight on Sunday morning live around the world, and invited celebrities and former space station astronauts to the company's Spaceport America base in New Mexico. R& B singer Khalid performed his new single "New Normal"-a recognition of the dawn of space tourism-while stephen colbert, the host of CBS's "Late Show", was the master of the ceremony.

Before boarding the ship, Branson, who surfed kites in the English Channel and tried to travel around the world in a hot air balloon, signed his name in the astronaut log: "This name is Branson." Sir richard branson. Astronaut double-oh-one. A thrilling permit. "

But when asked later whether he was planning more adventures, Branson said that he" will definitely take a break "because" I'm not sure it's fair to let my family go through another adventure. " He said that he thought he held the record of being rescued from the sea by helicopter five times.

after returning to earth, he announced a lucky draw and won two seats in the Virgin Galactic trip.

Virgin Galactic has more than 6 reservations from potential space tourists, with an initial ticket price of $25, each. Blue Origin is waiting for Bezos' flight before announcing the fare.

Kerianne Flynn signed a contract with Virgin Galactic in 211. She had butterflies before the launch on Sunday.

She said, "I don't think there is anything better than climbing up and looking down at the earth, which is what I am most excited about." She added: "I hope the next generation can explore the above things."

Blue Origin and Musk's SpaceX both use Apollo-style flight mode, using capsules on rockets instead of air-launched reusable space planes.

SpaceX, which is already launching astronauts and building spacecraft on the moon and Mars for NASA, plans to lead tourists on more than short, upward and downward trips. Instead, they will go into orbit around the earth for several days, with seats costing millions of dollars. The company's first private flight is scheduled for September.

Musk himself has not promised to go into space in a short time.

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Dunn reports from Cape Canaveral, Florida.