Space, Branson beats Bezos with the flight on the Virgin Galactic spacecraft
Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson flew on July 11, beating rival Bezos
Virgin Galactic anticipates the first test flight with founder Richard Branson nine days before rival Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin mission.
British billionaire Branson plans to travel into space on July 11 aboard a spacecraft of his aerospace company Virgin Galactic. This was announced by the company in a statement.
If the schedule is adhered to, Branson will reach space before Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who will participate in the inaugural mission of his company's Blue Origin spaceship New Shepard on July 20.
Shares of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. rose in the wake of the announcement.
THE SPACESHIPTWO FLIGHT ON JULY 11th
"The window for the next SpaceShipTwo Unity test flight opens on July 11, pending weather and technical checks," Virgin Galactic said in a statement.
Branson “will evaluate the experience of the private astronaut and undergo the same training, preparation and flight as future Virgin Galactic astronauts. The company will use its observations on its training and flight experience to improve the journey of all future astronaut customers, ”the note explains. The flight will also be broadcast live online by the company, which will not use a classic rocket that brings the spacecraft up, but a transport plane that takes off from a runway and then leaves the spaceship hanging under it, which ignites its engines until you reach space and then begin the descent. Two pilots will be aboard the carrier aircraft and four people, including Richard Branson, in the spacecraft called VSS Unity.
Last week the airline was given the green light by the United States Federal Aviation Authority to board members of the paying public, paving the way for the much anticipated Branson flight.
The voyage will be Virgin Galactic's fourth space flight with crew members.
BEZOS WILL FLY ON JULY 20
As we said, billionaire Jeff Bezos is also planning a space trip on July 20 from nearby West Texas aboard a rocket built by Blue Origin, the space company of Amazon's founder.
Yesterday, the company announced that 82-year-old aviator Wally Funk, a pioneer in the field of aviation, will go into orbit with founder Bezos and his brother.
The inclusion of Funk as a "guest of honor" is the latest symbolic move to usher in Blue Origin's space tourism program: the date of July 20 is the anniversary of the first moon landing in the United States and the New capsule. Shepard is named after Alan Shepard, the first American astronaut.
The aviator had previously spent $ 200,000 to buy a ticket to travel on the Virgin Galactic spacecraft, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
VIRGIN GALACTIC IN THE FIRST LINE
But Bezos will only come into orbit second, behind rival Branson.
"After 16 years of research, engineering and testing, Virgin Galactic is at the forefront of a new commercial space industry that must open up space for humanity," Branson added. "I really believe that space belongs to all of us," said the billionaire, the statement continues.
Branson's suborbital flight would indeed meet a long-standing goal for the British billionaire and Virgin Galactic, which he founded in 2004.
THE ROUTE
Subsequently, two additional tests are planned before regular commercial flights begin in 2022, Virgin Galactic announced.
Virgin Galactic executives said they intend to resume ticket sales after the two test flights this summer. The company had suspended sales after a 2014 crash killed a test driver.
Virgin Galactic plans to begin its regular commercial service next year.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/spazio-branson-batte-bezos-con-il-volo-sulla-navicella-di-virgin-galactic/ on Fri, 02 Jul 2021 09:18:41 +0000.