Sir Richard Branson and his crew of three flight specialists have been forced to reschedule today's anticipated flight into space. The mission, dubbed Unity 22, was due to launch from New Mexico's Spaceport America after 2pm BST (9am EDT). However, bad overnight weather in the launch area has forced the company to reschedule and push the flight back.

       The good news is though the launch will still go ahead today (July 11) albeit more than an hour late.

       The Virgin Galactic launch is now pencilled in for after 3.30pm BST (10.30am EDT).

       Unity 22 is Virgin Galactic's 22nd overall flight and its fourth venture into space.

       The company tweeted this weekend: "Join us July 11th for our first fully crewed rocket-powered test flight, and the beginning of a new space age."

       READ MORE: Virgin Galactic launch LIVE stream: Watch the historic flight HERE

       Flying aboard the VSS Unity spacecraft, Sir Richard and his crew will soar to an altitude of more than 50 miles.

       While in space, the crew will experience about four minutes of weightlessness.

       Sir Richard's role in the flight will be to evaluate the "private astronaut experience" the space tourism company has to offer.

       The Virgin mogul has said ahead of the mission, he has dreamt of making space travel accessible to the public.

       He believes Virgin Galactic is now on the cusp of making that dream a reality.

       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.

       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.

       Announcing his participation on today's flight, Sir Richard said he believes space belongs to "all of us".

       He has, therefore, spent more than a decade to make his vision of accessible space tourism come to life.

       He said: "I truly believe that spaceflight belongs to all of us.

       "After more than 16 years of research, engineering, and testing, Virgin Galactic stands at the vanguard of a new commercial space industry, which is set to open humankind and change the world for good."

       For the time being, however, flying to the edge of space will only remain within reach of the wealthy elites.

       Customers who have secured their tickets for Virgin Galactic's first flights are reported to have paid up to ￡181,000 ($250,000) for the privilege.

       If you want to catch a glimpse of what it's like to fly into space, you can watch Virgin Galactic's live stream of today's flight.

       The free broadcast will be hosted on YouTube and you can watch it here on Express.co.uk.

       Simply click here to watch the action unfold at Spaceport America.

       The stream will be hosted by the host of The Late Show on CBS, Stephen Colbert.