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Richard Branson in space flight (July 11th)
Photo: VIRGIN GALACTIC / HANDOUT HANDOUT / EPA
The US aviation authority FAA is investigating a course deviation during the landing approach of the space mission of the British billionaire and company founder Richard Branson.
An FAA spokesman said the spaceship deviated from the approved route when it returned to the spaceport.
"The investigation is ongoing."
Virgin Galactic did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for comment.
The New Yorker magazine had previously reported that the spaceship had flown outside the prescribed airspace for one minute and 41 seconds.
A red light indicated a warning of entry into the sliding cone.
The 70-year-old set out on July 11 with two astronauts and three astronauts on his 90-minute space adventure.
The spaceship "VSS Unity" was first brought under a mother aircraft to an altitude of about 14 kilometers and then set down.
The engine then fired and the spacecraft accelerated during a steep ascent to more than three times the speed of sound - over 3,500 kilometers per hour.
TV footage showed the sky turning from blue to black as Branson and his crew left the atmosphere.
Multibillionaire race
The goal of Branson - and also of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Tesla boss Elon Musk - is to get into the space tourism business. But Branson's All-Trip was also a successful PR coup against his competitor Bezos: The richest man in the world had advertised his flight into space on July 20 at great expense - then Branson came and announced that he would fly nine days earlier . The live coverage of the flight by Virgin Galactic gave the impression of a promotional event.
However, it is disputed among experts whether Branson was actually in space at an altitude of 80 kilometers: The International Aviation Association and many other experts see 100 kilometers above the earth as the boundary to space, but there are no binding international regulations.
For comparison: the international space station ISS is located about 400 kilometers above the earth's surface.
jok / Reuters