Richard Branson

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Virgin Orbit Is Dead
Goodbye to
Virgin Orbit
May 24, 2023 9:40 AM CDT

Goodbye to Virgin Orbit

Bankrupt company sells $36M in assets, waves goodbye

(Newser) - Virgin Orbit is no more. Richard Branson's company, which sought to deliver satellites to low Earth orbit using a modified Boeing 747 , has officially shut down after failing to secure the necessary funding to stay afloat. Its first-ever satellite mission in the UK in January was marred by a...

Richard Branson: Cut Speed Limits to Beat Putin

'Importing Russian oil and gas is funding Putin’s war and has got to stop immediately'

(Newser) - Sir Richard Branson, who has broken world speed records in boats and balloons and beat Jeff Bezos to space last year, isn't a man normally known for advocating slower speeds—but he says it could be the key to defeating Vladimir Putin. The billionaire says the world needs to...

Prince William Calls Out Rich Men's Race to Space
Shatner: Prince William
Is 'Lovely' but Wrong
UPDATED
Oct 15, 2021 6:55 AM CDT

Shatner: Prince William Is 'Lovely' but Wrong

He says Blue Origin voyages are 'baby steps' toward greater things after prince's criticism

(Newser) - Update: William Shatner says Prince William is a "lovely, gentle, educated man"—but he's got the "wrong idea" about space tourism. After the prince said the world's greatest minds should focus on fixing problems on Earth, Shatner told Entertainment Tonight that trips like his Wednesday...

FAA Is Investigating Branson's Space Flight

Trip veered off course, but Virgin Galactic insists there was no danger

(Newser) - Richard Branson famously became the first billionaire to rocket into space, just ahead of Jeff Bezos, but it seems that Branson's flight was a little rockier than first thought. Now the FAA is taking a closer look at what transpired on the Virgin Galactic trip, reports the Wall Street ...

Astronaut? Not So Fast, FAA Tells Bezos

Rule may exclude billionaire from high-flying club

(Newser) - Jeff Bezos may have reached outer space, but the billionaire may never get to be officially dubbed an astronaut. Per BBC , the FAA announced its Commercial Astronaut Wings program the same day Bezos boarded his Blue Origin spaceship trained on the outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere. But rather than...

Jeff Bezos Blasts Into Space
Bezos Touches Down
After Trip to Space
UPDATED
Jul 20, 2021 8:15 AM CDT

Bezos Touches Down After Trip to Space

He and 3 passengers lifted off on Blue Origin's debut flight

(Newser) - Billionaire No. 2 has completed his trip to space. Jeff Bezos and three passengers blasted off on Tuesday from Texas aboard a Blue Origin rocket and returned safely about 10 minutes later. The flight, another crucial test for space tourism, follows the feat of Richard Branson . As the AP notes,...

Richard Branson Got to Space. Now Comes the Hard Part
Richard Branson Got to Space.
Now Comes the Hard Part
the rundown
Jul 12, 2021 10:55 AM CDT

Richard Branson Got to Space. Now Comes the Hard Part

Entrepreneur has to show space tourism is a viable business

(Newser) - Richard Branson blasted off into space on Sunday and returned safe and sound, but the Wall Street Journal reports that perhaps a bigger challenge for Branson's Virgin Galactic company still lies ahead: Can it make space tourism a viable business? Jeff Bezos, of course, hopes to do the same...

Richard Branson's 3am Visitor Before Space Flight: Elon Musk

Tesla founder stopped by Branson's kitchen

(Newser) - Richard Branson got a visit from another billionaire in the wee hours of Sunday, just before his historic trip to space: Elon Musk. The Virgin Group founder tweeted a photo of himself with the (barefoot) Tesla founder two hours before the flight launched, Business Insider reports. Branson later explained at...

Branson Earns His Wings, Returns After Reaching Space

70-year-old tops Jeff Bezos in race between billionaires

(Newser) - Swashbuckling entrepreneur Richard Branson hurtled into space aboard his own winged rocket ship Sunday in his boldest adventure yet, beating out fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos. The nearly 71-year-old Branson and five crewmates from his Virgin Galactic space tourism company reached an altitude of about 53 miles over the New Mexico...

Advice to Bezos, Branson: 'Read the Room'
Advice to Bezos, Branson:
'Read the Room'
OPINION
Jul 9, 2021 1:11 PM CDT

Advice to Bezos, Branson: 'Read the Room'

Critics weigh in on the billionaires' space race

(Newser) - With Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos planning their first trips to space as dangerous heat waves intensify, some people suspect the billionaires are planning futures off the planet. Not going to happen, says Sim Kern in an essay at Salon . "As a scifi writer and the spouse of a...

Branson Invites Colbert to Host Launch Livestream

Billionaire will blast off Sunday morning

(Newser) - Richard Branson is going to space on Sunday— nine days before rival billionaire Jeff Bezos—and he's now lined up a celebrity host for the livestream. Branson invited Stephen Colbert to host the Sunday morning event after the late-night host joked on Twitter about not being invited on the...

Another Billionaire Will Get to Space 9 Days Before Bezos

Richard Branson will be on July 11 flight

(Newser) - Jeff Bezos is going on what he calls his " greatest adventure " on July 20—but the Amazon founder won't be able to claim the title of "first billionaire to go to space in his own spacecraft." Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson announced Thursday that he...

'Pinch Yourself:' Virgin Launches Satellites From a 747

7 satellites were from 3 countries

(Newser) - Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit delivered satellites from three countries into space on Wednesday, its second successful rocket launch from a plane. The company’s modified 747 jet, dubbed Cosmic Girl, took off from California’s Mojave Desert, carrying the 70-foot rocket beneath its left wing. Once the plane was...

2nd Time's the Charm: Virgin Orbit Reaches Space

Richard Branson's company succeeds Sunday, 8 months after failed flight

(Newser) - Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit reached space on Sunday, eight months after the first demonstration flight of its air-launched rocket system failed, the company said. A 70-foot-long LauncherOne rocket was released from beneath the wing of a Boeing 747 carrier aircraft off the coast of Southern California, ignited moments later,...

Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit Rocket Launch Ends Poorly

It's not yet clear what went wrong, but mission was terminated

(Newser) - Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit failed Monday in its first test launch of a new rocket carried aloft by a Boeing 747 and released over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California, the AP reports. The inaugural launch had appeared to be going well until moments after the...

Branson Says He Will Use Island to Secure Loans

Billionaire asks UK government for assistance

(Newser) - Virgin chief Richard Branson is asking the British government for a bailout—and defending himself against critics who say a billionaire who doesn't pay British taxes shouldn't be asking for help. In an open letter to Virgin employees , Branson said he was asking for a government loan to...

Venezuela's Border With Brazil 'Completely' Closed

President Nicolas Maduro warns border with Colombia may be next

(Newser) - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been pushing back against efforts to send humanitarian aid into his country, an initiative led by opposition leader Juan Guaido. The latest development in that conflict came Thursday night, with Maduro announcing on state TV that he was closing the border with Brazil "completely...

Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic Reaches Space

It's a big milestone for the commercial space industry

(Newser) - Virgin Galactic has officially reached space. Sir Richard Branson's company launched a spacecraft more than 50 miles into the air Thursday, not reaching orbit but successfully meeting the Federal Aviation Administration's definition of space, the Washington Post reports. It was the first spacecraft with humans aboard to be...

Branson: I'll Be in Space Within 'Months'

Virgin founder announces imminent test flights

(Newser) - Justin Bieber and others with a $250,000 reservation to board Virgin Galactic's tourist spaceship won't have too much longer to wait. Richard Branson tells CNBC that commercial space test flights will begin in "weeks, not months," forging a path for the Virgin founder to board...

Las Vegas' Hard Rock Casino-Hotel Has New Billionaire Owner

'The guitar may not survive'

(Newser) - The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas will be overhauled over the next several months following its purchase Friday by billionaire Richard Branson, the AP reports. The property with about 1,500 rooms and suites off the Las Vegas Strip will eventually become Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. It...

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