 All eyes were on British billionaire Richard Branson as he sailed more than 50 miles above the New Mexico desert in his Virgin Galactic rocket plane in a daring fate. He made a set return in the vehicle's first fully crewed test flight to space. The success of the flight also gives the entrepreneur a bragging right in a highly publicized rivalry with fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos. Bezos had hoped to fly into space first aboard his own space company's rocket. Sanders' launch of the VSS Unity passenger rocket plane marked the Virgin Galactic 22nd test flight of its SpaceShip 2 system, but it's the fourth crewed mission beyond Earth's atmosphere. The launch of the VSS Unity passenger rocket plane marked the first flight of its SpaceShip 2 system, and it's the fourth crewed mission beyond Earth's atmosphere.