Sir Richard Branson

British billionaire Sir Richard Branson almost, but not quite, flew into space today as a passenger aboard the privately built and operated Virgin Galactic spaceplane, VSS Unity, which took off from Spaceport America, New Mexico at about 10:30 am EDT.

Over a year after a fatal test flight accident, Virgin Galactic is back as CEO Sir Richard Branson today unveiled the new spacecraft that will replace the ill-fated SpaceShipTwo,

Even though the investigations into the SpaceShipTwo incident are only beginning, there are those who already claim that Sir Richard Branson’s dream of sending tourists on suborbital flights into space is as dead as the Hindenburg. But is it?

The pilots of the SpaceShipTwo spaceplane that crashed during a test flight on Friday have been identified. Meanwhile, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a press conference on Saturday evening, releasing details of the ongoing accident investigation.

One of the two pilots who were aboard Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo is dead and the second pilot, who parachuted from the spaceplane before it crashed in the desert, is in hospital after suffering serious injuries.

Six entrepreneurs have been selected as finalists in Virgin Media's "Pitch to Rich" competition. The contest aims to "find the best and most innovative entrepreneurs in the UK." The finalists will now pitch to Sir Richard Branson for the chance to win £5,000 (US$8,420) of investment, plus mentoring.

Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo (SS2) continues to inch toward a full suborbital test flight with its third supersonic test carried out Friday morning. The SS2 rocket engine pushed the suborbital spacecraft to an altitude of 71,000 ft (18 km) and a top speed over Mach 1.4.

NBCUniversal has signed an exclusive partnership with Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic to televise the space tourism company's first commercial passenger flight next August.

Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (SS2) broke its own speed and altitude records on Thursday as it successfully completed its second rocket-powered, supersonic flight.

Space travel just got another step closer for the masses (at least the well-heeled ones) with the dedication of Virgin Galactic's new "Gateway to Space" facility.

Virgin Atlantic Airways is planning to capture gases from steel mills, to create a new low-carbon jet fuel.

Richard Branson latest acquisition is a 3-person underwater plane.