Richard Branson makes it to space in his own winged rocket ship

Richard Branson is welcomed as he arrives at Spaceport America near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico on Sunday. Pic/AFP

Swashbuckling entrepreneur Richard Branson hurtled into space aboard his own winged rocket ship on Sunday in his boldest adventure yet, beating out fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos.

The nearly 71-year-old Branson and five crewmates from his Virgin Galactic space tourism company reached an altitude of about 53 miles (88 kilometres) over the New Mexico desert - enough to experience three to four minutes of weightlessness and see the curvature of the Earth - and then safely glided back home to a runway landing. "Seventeen years of hard work to get us this far," Branson said as he congratulated his team on the trip back.

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