OPINION: Billionaires In Space
OPINION: Billionaires In Space
By William Jones
NASA’s Monopoly Is Over
It is now about 50 years since Neil Armstrong, was the first man to step on the moon. But in the era of space travel now dawning, far more of us are destined to join him. In America’s new space age, NASA’s monopoly is over. The leaders are companies, not countries. And they are about to prove anyone with enough money can become an astronaut. The biggest names in the current space race are three of the richest men in the world, Elon Musk, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos.
Space Tourism Starts Off Slow
“People want to go to space, people should go to space, because they come back changed,” said Richard Branson, the Virgin-brand billionaire who launched his space tourism business in 2004. From Virgin Galactic’s spaceport in New Mexico, six passengers per flight will rocket more than 62 miles above Earth for the ultimate selfie. Six hundred people have pre-paid 250,000 dollars for the chance to fly, including 58-year-old Floridian ” It’s my turn, and I’m going,” MaryAnn Barry said. “I do want to see what the Earth looks like from space. I want to have that overview effect experience.” Virgin Galactic on Sunday July 11, 2021 launched its first flight carrying Branson and several employees on a 53 mile high . It is just one of many steps needed before it will launch a single paying customer. “It’s taken us fourteen years,” Branson said. “Space is hard. We’ve had our tears. We’ve had our joys. But I’ll tell you what, the joys have been fantastic.”
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