The Virgin Galactic founder became the first billionaire to reach suborbital flight in his own rocket-powered plane. He called it ‘the experience of a lifetime.’

The Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity has officially taken off.

The flight, which has billionaire Richard Branson and other passengers aboard, conducted more than 20 test flights, three of which have reached the edge of space, CNN has reported.

It is affixed to a mothership, called WhiteKnightTwo, that looks like two sleek jets attached at the tip of their wings. 

The mothership will take about 45 minutes to cruise along and slowly climb with VSS Unity to between 40,000 and 50,000 feet. 

When the pilots give the go-ahead, the space plane will drop from between WhiteKnightTwo’s two fuselages and fire up its rocket engine, swooping directly upward and roaring past the speed of sound.