Aviation Week reports, “Following his July 2021 suborbital flight aboard Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson plans a near-space ride as co-pilot for Space Perspective’s first crewed balloon flight into the stratosphere, targeted for 2025. ‘Some of the most magnificent experiences of my life…’
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Tag: Richard Branson
Richard Branson Says He Will Not Invest More Money into Virgin Galactic
CNN reports that shares of Virgin Galactic, “the space tourism venture founded by Richard Branson, are plunging after the British billionaire said he has no plans to invest more money in the company as he says it has ‘sufficient funds’ already.” This news contributed to Virgin Galactic’s stock falling 16% at market open on Monday. Virgin Galactic “has had a landmark year, flying its first customers to the edge of space after years of waiting.” But the company “has also been in a state of flux, having just laid off about 20% of its staff and working to introduce a new line of suborbital spacecraft that will supplant the vehicle it’s spent more than a decade developing.”
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Richard Branson Defends Space Travel
CNBC reports that Richard Branson spoke to the BBC in an interview and expressed his optimism for space travel, saying that it is “incredibly important” for the Earth. However, many are pushing back against the environmental implications of the growth of rocket launches for space tourism, with a study by the NOAA in June 2022 suggesting “that a significant boost in spaceflight activity may damage the protective ozone layer on the one planet where we live.” Branson answered that criticism by saying, “What Virgin and our principal competitors have managed to do is bring the environmental costs of space travel down dramatically, in terms of carbon cost.” He added that these costs would “come down even further.”
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