Virgin Mogul Richard Branson made history today with his first flight with Virgin Galactic into space. During the mission, dubbed Unity 22, Mr Branson sent a message back to earth of congratulations and thank you. He praised all of the hard work that went into the project and remained optimistic about the future prospects of Virgin Galactic.

       While Mr Branson's message was not completely audible, he could be heard saying it was an "experience of a lifetime."

       The Virgin Galactic company has become the world's first space tourism company after successfully flying a crew of four people into space and landing again.

       Chief executive of Virgin Galactic, Michael Colglazier, said: “This is a landmark moment for Virgin Galactic.

       “It’s a landmark moment for the new commercial space industry and it certainly is a landmark moment for our founder Richard Branson.”

       DON'T MISS: Virgin Galactic launch LIVE: Latest updates as space flight takes off

       He said the company’s work on Sunday was dedicated to “opening up space to all”.

       Launching from Virgin Galactic's base of operations at Spaceport America in New Mexico, Sir Richard, 70, and a crew of three flight specialists soared to an altitude above 50 miles.

       The Virgin Galactic crew has, therefore, earned its astronaut wings as it surpassed the American standard for spaceflight.

       Tourists are expected to pay 250,000 US dollars (￡180,000) for a spaceflight on Virgin Galactic, which includes four minutes of zero gravity.

       The mission blasted off from New Mexico at about 3.40pm BST - 100 minutes after originally intended.

       Bad overnight weather in the launch area forced the company to reschedule and push the flight time back.

       But Virgin Galactic is not the only company making strides towards accessible space travel.

       Sir Richard's biggest competitor, Jeff Bezos, is also due to launch into space this month.

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       The former Amazon CEO will blast off on a suborbital flight with his company Blue Origin and the New Shepard rocket.

       Blue Origin recently attacked Virgin Galactic in a scathing marketing campaign belittling the former's spaceflight credentials.