Virgin Galactic flew an engagement ring to space

After its safe return, Richard Branson handed the ring off to an engineer who made an adorable post-flight proposal.

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By Amanda Kooser, CNET

It's a love story that transcends gravity. The successful test flight of Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity SpaceShipTwo to suborbital space on Thursday was followed up by a heart-warming, on-the-ground proposal.

Flight test engineer Brandon Parrish asked his girlfriend Veronica McGowan, a structural engineer, to marry him. He used an engagement ring that had just flown on the VSS Unity, which means the ring earned some honorary astronaut wings for its journey. 

Both Parrish and McGowan work for The Spaceship Company, the Virgin Galactic sister company that manufactured SpaceShipTwo.

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson shared the sweet moment on social media, saying, "What better way to propose than with a ring that had just flown to space?"

Parrish dropped this poetic line during the proposal: "You are more beautiful inside and out than an entire universe full of stars." Branson handed the space-flown ring to Parrish. Of course, McGowan said "Yes."  

VSS Unity achieved a major step forward for the young commercial space tourism industry when its two pilots topped the 50-mile (80-kilometer) above Earth mark during its flight. 

Perhaps Parrish and McGowan should consider an off-this-world honeymoon destination when Virgin Galactic finally moves ahead with ferrying passengers to suborbital space.