On July 11, Richard Branson is aiming for departure, weather permitting. He has nine days to get away before Jeff Bezos’ planned trip on July 20, with his company Blue Origins spacecraft.

The two billionaires’ competing space companies are both investing in short space tourism trips for private individuals.

Several test flights

Branson will undergo the same training and preparation as Virgin Galactic’s upcoming space tourists, the company writes in A statement.

“The company will use his flight training observations and space travel experience to improve the journey for all future astronaut customers,” writes Virgin Galactic.

Three more of the company’s employees will accompany the trip, along with two pilots.

As recently as a week ago, Virgin Galactic was given the green light by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to fly private individuals into space, after completing its first successful manned test flight in May. The upcoming trip will be the first fully manned test flight and after that two more tests are planned, before the company hopes to be able to open for regular commercial trips next year.

No classic rocket

The VSS Unity spacecraft, which seats six people, is not a classic rocket. Instead, it is carried high in the air by an airplane, before starting its engines and going the last bit towards the boundary of space itself. The spacecraft then turns and slides back down to the ground.

The space trip that rival Jeff Bezos is planning has received a lot of attention since a seat on board the Amazon founder’s craft in June was auctioned off for a mere SEK 230 million. Who the traveler is has not yet been announced. Bezos will also take his brother and 82-year-old astronaut-trained female pilot Wally Funk on his trip on July 20.