Sir Richard Branson says his team are only "weeks, not months" away from putting their first rocket in space. Virgin Galactic is "neck and neck" with Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin program for the first commercial spaceflight.

Branson reportedly saying his project was "more than tantalizingly close" to launching and he will be putting people in space not too long after that.

Branson said in May that Virgin Galactic and Bezos' Blue Origin were tied in the race for the first commercial spaceflight.