Billionaire businessman and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, who is preparing to launch into space this coming Sunday, has a surprise for everyone: an ancestor from Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu.
The British business tycoon, who was in Mumbai in 2019 to celebrate his airline Virgin Atlantic’s new route to the city, claimed that Cuddalore is home to a branch of his family that dates back to 1793 and that of his great, great, great-grandmother Aria. was an Indian.
“I knew that my previous generations were living in India, but didn’t know how strong our ties were. So, it turns out that since 1793, four of our generations were living here in Cuddalore and I had a great, great The great-grandmother was an Indian named Aria, who was married to one of my greats, great-grandfather, great-grandfather,” he said during his visit. “Every time I meet an Indian, I say we can be relatives,” the 70-year-old joked.
She also revealed Virgin Atlantic’s latest flying icon in 2020 after her great, great, great-grandmother’s name, Aria.
On July 11, Branson’s Virgin Galactic will launch its first fully crewed mission outside Earth’s atmosphere. Set to launch from New Mexico, Branson is one of six crew members who will be aboard Virgin Galactic’s ‘VSS Unity’ this Sunday.
The “Unity 22” mission will be the 22nd flight test of VSS Unity and the fourth crewed spacecraft. It will also be the first to have a full crew in the cabin, including the company’s founder as well as two pilots and four mission specialists.
Completing the mission before July 20, 2021 will make Richard Branson the first billionaire to fly into space, winning the new space race for nine days over fellow billionaire and e-commerce giant Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
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