Open this photo in gallery Astronaut Sirisha Bandla, second from right, will become only the second

overwhelmed with joy.... My second granddaughter, she is going to space." Bandla is the second woman born

Unity22 Crew, consisting of Dave Mackay, Colin Bennett, Beth Moses, Richard Branson, Sirisha Bandla

BENGALURU( REUTERS)-India's space agency suffered a setback while trying to put an earth observation satellite into orbit, due to a technical anomaly minutes after the rocket carrying the satellite was launched in the early hours on Thursday( Aug 12)." Performance of first and second stages was normal.... However, Cryogenic Upper Stage ignition did not happen due to technical anomaly. The mission couldn't be accomplished as intended," the Indian Space Research Organisation said in a statement.

Mission accomplished. Billionaire Sir Richard Branson flew to the lower edge of space and back to planet Earth on Sunday in the first fully crewed flight from his private space tourism firm Virgin Galactic." What a day.... What a day," Branson said at a news conference following the historic flight.... Within 30 seconds the spacecraft reached Mach 2 speed and a few seconds later hit Mach 3 at an altitude of weightlessness. Onboard video showed Branson and the three other astronauts smiling as

Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson is aiming to beat fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos into space by nine days. Branson’s company announced Thursday that its next test flight will be as soon as July 11 and that its founder will be among the six people on board, all company employees.... The winged rocket ship will soar from New Mexico — its first time carrying a full crew. Bezos, meanwhile, plans to blast into space from West Texas on July 20, the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing....

Virgin Galactic will launch its first fully crewed mission to the edge of space later today( July 11).... If all goes according to plan, Sir Richard Branson, 70, will beat former Amazon boss Jeff Bezos to the finish line-the latter is due to fly into space with Blue Origin just nine days later. Virgin Galactic's upcoming mission has been officially dubbed Unity 22 and marks the company's fourth flight into space. This time around, however, it will be the first test flight to carry a full crew o

Open this photo in gallery Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is due on Sunday to send the company’s passenger rocket plane, the VSS Unity, on its first fully crewed test flight to the edge of space. BRENDAN MCDERMID/ ReutersDecades after burnishing his reputation as a wealthy daredevil mogul in a series of boating and hot-air balloon expeditions, Richard Branson is poised to promote his burgeoning astro-tourism venture by launching himself to the final frontier. Branson’s Virgin Galactic Holding

” A festive gathering of space industry executives, future customers and other well-wishers were on hand to witness the launch, which was livestreamed in a presentation hosted by late-night television comedian Stephen Colbert.... The gleaming white spaceplane was carried aloft on Sunday attached to the underside of the dual-fuselage jet VMS Eve( named for Branson's late mother) in a takeoff from Spaceport America, a state-owned facility near the aptly named town of Truth or Consequences.... Th