Billionare entreprenuer Richard Branson is "pretty confident" that his space tourism venture Virgin Galactic will send astronauts into space by Christmas, the media reported. On Friday, Branson stated that Galactic is on the verge of a major achievement and will send astronauts into space by Christmas.

Earlier in 2018, the company resumed powered test flights of the rebuilt SpaceShipTwo, named VSS Unity. A test in July sent the craft to a peak altitude of 32.3 miles. The goal is to send VSS Unity more than 50 miles above Earth, high enough to earn passengers astronaut wings from the US government, the report said.