Richard Branson says he will bring the Pride flag with him on his Virgin Galactic space flight

Billionaire and Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson along with the July 11 spaceflight crew (Image: Virgin Galactic)

Before Richard Branson boarded his Virgin Galactic rocketship to fly to the edge of space on July 11, the billionaire said he intends to bring an LGBTQ Pride flag with him.

In an interview with The Daily Mail on July 11, hours before his scheduled lift-off, Branson said he's bringing the Pride flag with him as a tribute to the victims of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida.

"Somebody who lost a loved one at the Orlando massacre asked if I would do that. "We also have many, many friends who are gay and I know people who lost friends there," he said.

Branson also said that he will take with him photos of his parents, children Sam and Holly, five grandchildren and friends' loved ones.

Joining Branson will be three senior Virgin Galactic staff. Beth Moses, the chief astronaut instructor, will be on board alongside lead operations engineer Colin Bennett and Sirisha Bandla, the company’s head of government affairs.

Interestingly, Branson’s planned flight from a spaceport in New Mexico comes nine days before fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos is due to blast into space from Texas on his Blue Origin rocket.