Sir Richard is going to be a passenger of the Unity rocket plane which his company Virgin Galactic company has been developing in the US for almost 20 years.
The rocket can climb to an altitude of 90km (295,000ft), this will allow those onboard a few to feel weightlessness and be able to have a stunning view of the earth’s curvature.
Once the Virgin Galactic entrepreneur performs a successful mission it means that commercial space operations can launch and the 600 customers who have already paid a deposit to be the first into space will be closer to achieving their dream.
Sir Richard Branson said: “I truly believe that space belongs to all of us. After 17 years of research, engineering and innovation, the new commercial space industry is poised to open the Universe to humankind and change the world for good.
“It’s one thing to have a dream of making space more accessible to all; it’s another for an incredible team to collectively turn that dream into reality.”
The reason for Virgin Galactic moving forward with this decision was influenced by the company being granted a commercial spaceflight licence by the Federal Aviation Administration last week.
Sunday 11 July is the date of the planned launch but as per all launches it is subject to the correct conditions on the day.
This launch date would mean that Sir Richard would be beating his rival in space tourism, fellow billionaire and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos who has announced his own flight on New Shepherd for the 20th July some 9 days after Sir Richard Branson.