Virgin Galactic announced Thursday that it would send its founder, Sir Richard Branson, into space on its next test flight July 11. The space tourism company has made three test flights before, and Branson’s flight will be its first with four people aboard, as the others lifted off with just two pilots. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is scheduled for launch on July 20 with his aerospace company Blue Origin. Branson said in a statement, “After more than 16 years of research, engineering, and testing, Virgin Galactic stands at the vanguard of a new commercial space industry, which is set to open space to humankind and change the world for good.”
