Richard Branson reached space successfully with his team on board Virgin Galactic after which the spacecraft glided back to earth and touched down safely to complete the hour-long flight on Sunday, paving the way for new-era space tourism.

After landing, Branson tweeted : “ I have dreamt about this moment as a child but going to space was more magical than I ever imagined."

I have dreamt about this moment since I was a child, but going to space was more magical than I ever imagined https://t.co/Wyzj0nOBgX #Unity22 @virgingalactic pic.twitter.com/grs7vHAzca

— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) July 11, 2021

A photo released by the company showed Branson and the three others in zero gravity.

Also read: Grandpa in India tracking Sirisha Bandla’s new-era flight into space

"Congratulations to all our wonderful team at Virgin Galactic for 17 years of hard, hard work to get us this far," Branson said during a live feed as the VSS Unity spaceship glided back to Spaceport America in New Mexico.

It reached a peak altitude of around 53 miles (85 kilometres) to the edge of space allowing the passengers to experience weightlessness and admire the sight of Earth's curvature.

The success of the mission also means that Branson has beaten arch rival Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in the race  into space. Bezos is scheduled to take off on a similar mission a few days later on July 20.

India connection

As part of the crew on the spacecraft, aeronautical engineer Sirisha Bandla became the third Indian-origin woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams. Sirisha was born in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh and brought up in Houston.

"I am so incredibly honoured to be a part of the amazing crew of #Unity22, and to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all," 34-year-old Sirisha tweeted days before the flight.

Also read: British billionaire Branson says he is not in race with US rival Bezos to fly into space

"When I first heard that I was getting this opportunity, it was just… I was speechless. I think that that probably captured it very well. This is an incredible opportunity to get people from different backgrounds, different geographies and different communities into space," she said in a video posted on the Twitter handle of Virgin Galactic on July 6.

Her grandfather based in Guntur, who described her “as very brave,” has been keenly tracking the flight.