Advertising tycoon Trevor Beattie returns to earth after daring space mission

Intergalactic millionaire Trevor Beattie has put his feet firmly back on the ground after flying to new heights in a daring space mission.

Trevor Beattie with fellow astronauts, Namira Salim and Ron Rosano during the zero gravity section of the mission (Picture credit: Virgin Galactic.)

The Wolverhampton University graduate, originally from Balsall Heath, Birmingham, left for the vast expanse of space on the Galactic 04 mission last week.

The space 04 flight crew, Pictured left to right: Rom Rosano, Namira Salim and Trevor Beattie. Credit: Virgin Galactic

Beattie boarded Virgin's VSS Unity at around 4:28pm on Friday afternoon, taking with him his space race school project, a 100-year-old check written by Orville Wright (Wright brothers) and a photograph of his late parents, Jack and Ada.

In a video, created by Virgin Galactic, Beattie quoted Sir Isaac Newton's famous 'giants' speech, saying: "I have been planning this for a long time.

"We are flying on the shoulders of giants."

A teary-eyed Beattie can be seen gazing over the horizon of our planet as the shuttle sits on the brink of space. The crew safely returned to Earth at 5:32pm on the same day. Beattie, who has also recently thrown his weight behind the 'Save the Crooked House' campaign, revealed the crew were only technically weightless for several minutes.

Beattie flew to space as part of the Galactic 04 mission alongside fellow astronauts, astronomy educator, Ron Rosan and founder of the Space Trust, Namira Salim.

Trevor Beattie before the mission. Credit: Virgin Galactic

On the run up the flight, Mr Beattie told why he was taking his school project, he said: "At the back of my school project, I've got a little kind of dotted rectangle where I'd planned to glue the tiny Birmingham Evening Mail article about 'Brummie lad goes to space' because I fully expect that by the time I was really old, 16 or 17, everyone would be going; it wouldn't be a big deal.

"Not only did I dream of it, I expected it. I was a poor kid, born at Brighton Road, Balsall Heath, and I'm standing in a spaceport in New Mexico and I'm going to space on Friday."

Beattie posted updates about the space flight on Twitter, with one post saying the flight was "the most extraordinary moment of my life".

Beattie originally signed up for the programme in 2004, when he accompanies Sir Richard Branson, to witness his win of the Ansari XPRIZE (the development of a reliable, reusable, privately financed commercial spaceship), signing up for the Galactic mission on the spot.

His spacesuit displays a Union Jack flag and the City of Birmingham Crest.

In another post, Beattie can be seen standing next to the VSS Unity as he says goodbye to his fellow astronauts. Beginning his journey home.