Richard Branson’s Star‑Bound Sprint
Picture this: billionaire Richard Branson hopping aboard his own Virgin Galactic craft to taste the stars, and he’s saying, “I’ll be doing it before the 50th anniversary of that epic moon landing!” That’s July 20, 1969, the day Apollo 11 made history. The entrepreneur is targeting a four‑ to five‑month window to make the launch happen.
Why the Countdown Matters
- 50th-anniversary goal: Branson wants to touch the sky on a landmark date.
- He’s not racing SpaceX or Blue Origin; his focus is on suborbital hops—just enough altitude to glimpse Earth’s curvature.
- While SpaceX plans a moonbound billionaire by 2023, Virgin’s flights are shorter and cheaper.
The SpaceShipTwo Journey
Here’s how it flies:
- Two skilled pilots start the engine after the craft is dropped from a carrier plane—think a giant sky‑bomb.
- It rockets up to about 50 miles (80 km), the US’s pie‑cemeal definition of the edge of space (the international threshold is 100 km).
- After a quick high‑speed window, the ship glides back, landing at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
- It can carry six passengers plus the pilots—small crowds for big thrills.
Branson’s Chronicle of Castles
Branson’s grand venture has been a living roller coaster:
- Earlier dates fizzled out, but he claims the final legs of testing are almost done.
- He said, “By July we should have done enough testing.” But he’s cautious—not promising something until the crew’s all green.
- Drives costing $35 million a month (about 47.5 million Singapore dollars) highlight the hefty price tag.
- Since the 2000s, he’s poured in over a billion dollars into the space venture.
Upcoming Milestone
Look out for the next test flight slated for February 20, weather permitting. If all goes well, the launch window for Branson’s first trip into the heavens might be just around the corner.
