TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. - Sir Richard Branson is one of a handful of billionaires in the world, and the newest member of an even more exclusive club.Branson, the 70-year-old founder of Virgin Group, become one of roughly 600 people to leave the Earth’s atmosphere when he flew to the edge of space on board a Virgin Galactic aircraft Sunday morning."Seventeen years of hard work to get us this far," Branson said as he congratulated his team on the trip back.There was no warning or pre-launch coverage ahead of Richard Branson and five others blasting off into space on Sunday, July 11, from Spaceport America in New Mexico.