Richard Branson visited by fellow space entrepreneur Elon Musk before Virgin Galactic flight

Richard Branson sought a celebrity-studded event for his Virgin Galactic flight to space on Sunday and perhaps the biggest star among many was his friend Elon Musk, a fellow billionaire and space entrepreneur.

SpaceX founder Musk flew into Las Cruces, New Mexico, on Saturday evening from Brownsville, Texas, near his company’s large Starship development complex. He was up early the following morning to wish Branson well.

“It was so great to find Elon in my kitchen at 3 o’clock” in the morning, Branson said at a press conference after the flight, noting that at the time he had already slept but Musk is a night owl who had not yet gone to bed.

Virgin Galactic played no role in inviting Musk, who watched the flight from a VIP section of Spaceport America, said a spokesman for Virgin, Barney Gimbel. “This is all Richard’s inviting him. They’re buddies,” he said.

Musk has bought a ticket for a future ride on Virgin Galactic, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, while adding that representatives for Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corporation and Tesla Inc were not available or could not be reached for comment. A Virgin Galactic spokeswoman declined to comment on any customers’ identities.