Space billionaires stir alarm with absence of safety oversight
The success of two privately funded human-space launches last month has supercharged the U.S. commercial launch industry, and advocates say the lack of rules is a key component.
Branson and Virgin Galactic pull off key test for space tourism
The suborbital journey kicks off a landmark month for the future of space tourism, with Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos set to fly on a rocket made by Blue Origin, his space venture.
Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space tourism venture achieves NYSE debut liftoff
Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. became the first space-tourism business to go public as it began trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange. The listing, carried out through a merger with a shell investment company that was already trading, secures vital new funding ...
Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit completes key high-altitude rocket-launch test
Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit on Wednesday released a rocket from the wing of a modified Boeing 747 jetliner in midair in a key test of its high-altitude launch system for satellites, the company said. In the penultimate mission before Virgin Orbit offers commercial satellite launch ...
Richard Branson plans to tie up with ANA for satellite launch business in Japan
Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit said Thursday it plans to bring its satellite launch system to Japan in partnership with airline operator ANA Holdings Inc., which will provide maintenance and possibly aircraft. Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne system is undergoing testing with the aim of launching rockets ...
Virgin Galactic flies first test passenger to the edge of space
A Virgin Galactic rocket plane on Friday soared to the edge of space with a test passenger for the first time, nudging British billionaire Richard Branson's company closer to its goal of suborbital flights for space tourists. Virgin Galactic's chief astronaut instructor Beth Moses, who ...
Virgin Galactic rocket ship reaches space in test flight, setting stage for tourists to boldly go
A Virgin Galactic rocket plane reached space on Thursday and returned safely to the California desert, capping years of testing to become the first U.S. commercial human flight to breach Earth's atmosphere since America's shuttle program ended in 2011. The successful test flight presages a ...
British billionaire Richard Branson said on Thursday that his Virgin Group would suspend its discussions with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund over a planned $1 billion investment in the group's space ventures, in light of events involving missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. "What has reportedly ...
Richard Branson takes another bet on the future with Hyperloop One
British billionaire Richard Branson on Thursday placed another bet on the future with an investment in Hyperloop One, which is developing super high-speed transportation systems. Hyperloop One said Branson's Virgin Group would take the company global and rebrand itself as Virgin Hyperloop One in the ...
British billionaire Richard Branson said on Tuesday he is in talks to set up a fund to help Caribbean nations recently ravaged by Hurricane Irma replace wrecked fossil fuel-dependent utilities with low-carbon renewable energy sources. The British business magnate has approached governments and would rally ...
British billionaire Branson urges 'Marshall Plan' after Irma ravages Caribbean
British billionaire Richard Branson has called for a "Marshall plan" to help the Caribbean recover from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma, which left tens of thousands homeless and sparked looting on islands left short of food and water. Irma ripped through the Leeward Islands ...
Branson ready to resume powered flights of rocket plane, eyes 2018 trip to space
Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is poised to resume powered test flights more than 30 months after the fatal breakup of its experimental rocket plane, with the billionaire entrepreneur aiming to make the first trip into space himself by the middle of next year. Following the ...
