Im kim brunhuber. This is cnn newsroom. We begin with a short flight to space but a Big Leap for tycoons who want to turn the great beyond into a tourist destination. In less than four hours, billionaire Richard Branson is set to take off in a Space Plane built by his company Virgin Galactic. Well, if he succeeds, he will be the first businessman to do so in a spacecraft, whose development he funded. A short time ago, he tweeted this Mission Statement for his upcoming flight. My Mission Statement is to turn the dream of Space Travel into a reality. For my grandchildren, for your grandchildren, for everyone. So, how does branson feel before potentially making history . Well, he opened up to cnns rachel crane. Reporter the countdown is on, and in just hours, entrepreneur Richard Branson hopes to become the first person to ride a selffunded rocket into suborbital space. Astronaut 001, Richard Branson. Reporter a Launch Nearlytwo decades in the making. Tell me, how do you feel . Um, well,