Space travel agency RocketBreaks said it saw an “astronomical” leap in enquiries following Sir Richard Branson’s successful Virgin Galactic flight on Sunday (July 11). 

The London-based brand, which launched in June as the UK’s first travel agency dedicated to space tourism, said it saw a 200% increase in interest in the 24 hours after the flight.

Branson’s VSS Unity reached space at an altitude of 53.5 miles before gliding to a runway landing in New Mexico in the US. It was Virgin Galactic’s fourth rocket-powered space flight and the first of 22 test flights with a full crew in the cabin.

“We went into work after the flight and were literally overwhelmed with enquiries for information on how people could book a place,” said director and co-founder David Doughty.

“Within one day of the flight we saw interest rise more than 200%, particularly from Asia, where there is a lot of fascination in the possibility of travelling to space.

“Since launching two weeks ago we have seen a steady interest for information but the images of Richard Branson and the crew actually going to the edge of space and floating around inside has increased our waiting list for information.

“Virgin Galactic’s flight, plus one next week from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, means space tourism is definitely taking off.”

A one-hour flight onboard Virgin Galactic costs $250,000, according to RocketBreaks. 

Some 600 space tourists are on the Virgin Galactic waiting list after paying a deposit of $10,000, reportedly including Elon Musk, Tom Hanks and Lady Gaga.