Richard Branson, British billionaire, who is all set to make his debut spaceflight on Sunday, has a connection with India. Two years ago, Branson revealed his ties to India at a press conference in Mumbai. He was in Mumbai for the launch of his airline Virgin Atlantic’s flight from Mumbai to London and he said that some of his ancestors had been from India.

In December 2019, he said he had an idea that his past generations was living in India, but haven’t realised how strong our connections were. The billionaire entrepreneur informed that he got a DNA test done and it revealed that a few of his own ancestors were found to be from Tamil Nadu’s Cuddalore district, dating as far back as 1793.

Also Read| New Mexico town seeks economic relief through Richard Branson’s liftoff

One of Branson’s great, great, great grandfathers was married to an Indian named Aria, a ‘saliva test’ had revealed. He added from 1793, four generations of his family lived in Cuddalore and one of his great, great, great grandmothers was an Indian named Aria, married to one of his great, great, great grandfathers.

“Every time I meet an Indian, I say we might be relatives,” he quipped.

All about Sirisha Bandla, Indian-origin woman set for space flight

The billionaire will be making his debut journey to the frontiers of the cosmos on Sunday. If all goes according to plan, the trip will give Branson the bragging rights over his rivals Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, all of who are popular for their interest in space and commercial flights.

After Sunday, Virgin Galactic plans two further flights, then the start of regular commercial operations from early 2022. The ultimate goal is to conduct 400 flights per year.