Over the weekend, we took an important step towards democratizing space for billionaires. “If you think Richard Branson’s space flight on Sunday morning was all about the pomp and simply served to feed the ego of a celebrity billionaire, you would not be wrong. Virgin Galactic hired Stephen Colbert to host the livestream, after all. R&B musician Khalid performed onstage following the mission. It was gaudy. It was showtime. It was absolutely a party. But make no mistake, this flight was also historic.” Here’s why Richard Branson’s flight matters. (The flight may have mattered. Covering it live on cable news networks was basically a free commercial for Virgin…)

+ Don’t believe me, take their word (or action) for it. Virgin Galactic gets set to sell $500 million in stock following Branson’s successful flight.