She’s still daddy’s little girl – even as her famous pop, Sir Richard Branson, prepares to boldly go where no billionaire has gone before.
“I haven’t left Dad’s side the last few days!” Holly Branson beamed from Earth Saturday on Twitter.
The 39-year-old daughter of the eccentric British entrepreneur glowed with childlike excitement as she anticipated his departure on Sunday’s historic Virgin Galactic flight to suborbital space.
“It’s bringing back so many memories of his ballooning adventures when I would follow him around like a puppy for weeks before a trip! Now I’m doing it all over again.”
Holly is, according to her Twitter account, the “Chief Purpose & Vision Officer” at Virgin, founded by her dad and business partner Nik Powell in 1970.
The 39-year-old Holly Branson is excited for her dad’s adventure into space. Twitter
Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic crew members enter the company’s passenger rocket plane. Virgin Galactic/Handout via Reuters
An inside look at Virgin Galactic’s spaceship. Virgin Galactic/AFP via Getty ImHer Twitter feed serves as a sort of unabashed Richard Branson Fan Page. It includes a recent post of an undated video of her youthful-looking father taking a call with a giant cell phone on what appears to be a 1980s-era TV talk show.
“I’d love to go into space,” he said to the unnamed caller. “When you see those magnificent pictures in space, and these incredible views, I think there’d be nothing nicer. So if you’re building a spacecraft I’d love to come with you on it.”
Holly Branson wrote above the video: “How it started. #Unity22 @virgingalactic”
Virgin Galactic’s crew is set for takeoff on Sunday, July 11, 2021. Virgin Galactic via AP, File
Virgin Galactic’s historic trip will head into suborbital space. Virgin Galactic/Handout via ReutersThe elder Branson is part of the Billionaire Space Race that includes Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in an effort to bring commercial space travel to the public.
Branson will be the first to visit himself, beating Bezos by nine days. The Amazon founder plans to travel aboard his space exploration company Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft on July 20.
Virgin Galactic’s “Unity 22” mission Sunday will be the 22nd flight test for VSS Unity, according to a company statement, but the first to carry a full crew of two pilots and four mission specialists in the cabin.
Branson will be in space nine days before Jeff Bezos. Virgin Galactic/Handout via Reuters
Richard Branson attends a briefing about Virgin Galactic’s passenger rocket plane. Virgin Galactic/Handout via ReutersSir Richard will “evaluate the private astronaut experience and will undergo the same training, preparation and flight as Virgin Galactic’s future astronaut,” the statement says.
“The Company will use his observations from his flight training and spaceflight experience to enhance the journey for all future astronaut customers.”
