Richard Branson Planning Trip To Space Ahead Of Rival Jeff Bezos

If the schedule holds, Richard Branson would make it to the cosmos before rival billionaire Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder who said he would travel to space aboard a spacecraft belonging to his company Blue Origin on July 20.

British billionaire Richard Branson one-upped his rival Jeff Bezos on Thursday, announcing that he too will travel to space -- as many as nine days ahead of the Amazon founder. Branson's company Virgin Galactic said in a statement that he would be a "mission specialist" aboard the SpaceShipTwo Unity, which will go to space as early as July 11, "pending weather and technical checks." If the schedule holds, Branson would make it to the cosmos before Bezos, who said he would travel to space aboard the New Shepard launch vehicle belonging to his company Blue Origin on July 20. The two billionaires have founded rival companies to take tourists on short flights to suborbital space.