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/Feature
Story
Branson
prepares to launch Virgin into space -
2004
Sir
Richard Branson has announced a deal, potentially
worth £14 million,
to secure the world's first commercial flights to
space.
-----
Sir
Richard Branson hopes to send 3,000 astronauts to
space in five years
-----
He
revealed his outer space business venture during a
press gathering at the Royal Aeronautical Society
in Central London this morning.
-----
The
licensing deal with Mojave Aerospace Ventures
(MAV), which owns the technology, could be worth
millions over the next 15 years depending on the
number of spaceships built by Virgin.
-----
Prices
for each seat are expected to start at
£115,000 with three days' flight training. Up
to 3,000 astronauts could be flying in space over a
five-year period.
-----
Sir
Richard said: "We hope to create thousands of
astronauts over the next few years and bring alive
their dream of seeing the majestic beauty of our
planet from above, the stars in all their glory and
the amazing sensation of weightlessness.
-----
"The
development will also allow every country in the
world to have their own astronauts rather than the
privileged few."
-----
He
was flanked by aviation legend Burt Rutan, who
developed the spaceship design. His company, Scaled
Composites, have built one and it reached a height
of 62 miles in June.
-----
In
a separate agreement, MAV is close to finalising a
deal with Burt Rutan to use the technology to build
spaceships to carry paying passengers on return
journeys to the stars for two hours.
////
Branson
reaches for the stars - By: Jane Perrone Sir
Richard Branson aims to bring space travel
within
the reach of ordinary people by pioneering space
flights at affordable prices.
-----
The
thrill-seeking entrepreneur told Guardian Unlimited
that Virgin was investing money in "trying to make
sure that, in the not too distant future, people
from around the world will be able to go into
space". He said he hoped to be a passenger on one
of the first tourist space flights into space.
-----
Sir
Richard refused to be drawn on details of the
project, but said the public should expect an
announcement revealing Virgin's latest enterprise
at some time in the next two or three weeks.
-----
"All
will be revealed over the next two or three weeks -
but, in a general sense, space is the ultimate
frontier, and something we at Virgin have dearly
wanted to do is to bring space tourism one day to
the masses," he said.
-----
Space
expert Greg Klerkx, author of the book Lost in
Space: The Fall of Nasa and the Dream of a New
Space Age, said that, for some time, there had been
rumours Sir Richard was very interested in space
flight.
-----
"He
has had some conversations with [space tourism
firm] Space Adventures about being a space
tourist himself," Mr Klerkx told Guardian
Unlimited.
-----
Virgin
has long been involved in promoting the adventurous
exploits of its chairman and his fellow adventurer
Steve Fossett, including the successful Global
Challenger mission to fly a balloon non-stop around
the world.
-----
Sir
Richard's forthcoming announcement could be related
to plans for a June 21 test flight of SpaceShipOne,
a rocket-propelled reusable space vehicle created
by aerospace designer Burt Rutan, of California
firm Scaled Composites.
-----
Mr
Rutan is already working with Sir Richard on Global
Flyer, a bid to make the first solo
circumnavigation of the world in a
specially-designed, ultra-lightweight jet plane.
Sir Richard is acting as reserve pilot.
SpaceShipOne
is part of Tier One, Scaled Composites' project to
pioneer private manned space
flight.
-----
The
ship will be released from a carrier craft at a
height of 15,000 metres, and will fire its rockets
to climb to a height of 100km before falling back
into the atmosphere and gliding to Earth. Mr Klerkx
said he was not surprised at talk of a link between
Virgin and Scaled Composites' sub-orbital
spaceflight plans, currently being bankrolled by
billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's
investment firm, Vulcan Ventures.
-----
"Tier
One's first flight is causing a big buzz in the
alternative space community, because there has been
talk for some time about a cheap but cheerful craft
that could go into space. Paul Allen tends not to
invest in too many silly things," he said.
-----
Sir
Richard would not say whether Virgin's plans
involved Scaled Composites' project. "I won't go
any further at the moment - but I'd love to talk to
you about it in a couple of weeks' time," he
said.
-----
On
the Tier One website, Mr Rutan said: "Our goal is
to demonstrate that non-government manned space
flight operations are not only feasible, but can be
done at very low costs."
-----
The
race to create the first viable space tourism
programme has been hotting up since the 1996
announcement of the X Prize, a $10m (£5m)
award for the first team managing to privately
finance, build and launch a spaceship that can
carry three people 100 kilometres above Earth,
bring them back safely, and repeat the exercise
within two weeks.
-----
Twenty-four
teams from seven countries, including three
UK-based firms, have registered for the challenge,
as well as Scaled Composites' Tier One project.
-----
In
2002, US consulting firm Futron calculated the
market for commercial space travel could be worth
more than $1bn a year by 2021.
-----
Space
Adventures has already created two non-professional
astronauts. US businessman Dennis Tito became the
first space tourist in 2001, and was followed by
South African millionaire Mark Shuttleworth a year
later. Both paid a reported fee of around $20m for
the privilege.
-----
Another
US businessman, Greg Olsen, is due to join this
super-rich band of space tourists next year, and
Space Adventures hopes to begin ticketed journeys
for sub-orbital spaceflights in 2005 or 2006.
-----
"With
sub-orbital [spaceflight] you get into
space - you can see black above and you get a bit
of weightlessness but you don't have the same
challenges of fuel and re-entry as you do with
orbital," Mr Klerkx said.
-----
He
estimates that, if enough people can be persuaded
to buy tickets for sub-orbital flights, the cost of
tickets could drop to around $10,000 - "the cost of
a cruise or some extreme adventures such as
climbing Mount Everest. There are big markets for
that kind of stuff".
-----
However,
not everyone is convinced that space tourism can
become a fully-fledged part of the travel
industry.
-----
Andrew
Nahum, the senior curator of aeronautics at the
Science Museum and visiting professor in vehicle
design at the Royal College of Art, said he doubted
it would ever become a profitable enterprise.
-----
"You
have got to put it in proportion - what you are
doing is something more ambitious than Concorde.
Even that was too expensive and never made a
buck."
-----
The
discomforts of space travel - which could include
dealing with zero gravity, vacuum toilets and space
sickness - could also put the average well-heeled
traveller off the idea, particularly if a large
price tag was attached, he said.
-----
"It's
not a volume market ... tourism is the wrong word -
it would be more like an extreme sport."
///
Center
Page / Biography
Born
in 1950, Richard Branson grew up in a traditional
family and received his education at Stowe School,
where he established a national magazine entitled
Student at the age of sixteen.
-----
He
started a Student Advisory Centre at 17, aiming to
help young people. In 1970 he founded Virgin as a
mail order record retailer, at twenty years old. In
1972, a recording studio was built in Oxfordshire
where the first Virgin artist, Mike Oldfield,
recorded "Tubular Bells", later released in
1973.
-----
The
first album of Virgin Records went on to sell more
than five million copies. At the age of 27, Richard
signed The Sex Pistols to the Virgin Records label
after the group was turned down by every label in
Great Britain.
-----
This
album went on to sell over 5 million copies! Since
then many household names, including Belinda
Carlisle, Genesis, Phil Collins, Janet Jackson and
The Rolling Stones have helped to make Virgin Music
one of the top six record companies in the world.
The equity of Virgin Music Group - record labels,
music publishing, and recording studios was sold to
THORN EMI in 1992 in a US$1billion deal.
-----
The
Virgin Group has now expanded into international
music Megastores, air travel, mobile, financial,
retail, music, internet, drinks, rail, hotels and
leisure, with around 200 companies in over 30
countries. Yes, we've been busy!
-----
Over
the years, he signed many superstar names including
Steve Winwood, Paula Abdul, Belinda Carlisle,
Genesis, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds,
The Human League, Bryan Ferry, Culture Club, Janet
Jackson, and The Rolling Stones. As is evident,
Branson managed to turn the Virgin Music Group into
a giant success.
-----
In
1992, the Virgin Music Group -- record labels,
music publishing and recording studios -- was sold
to Thorn EMI in a $1 billion US deal.
-----
The
interests of Virgin Group have since expanded into
international "Megastore" music retailing, books
and software publishing, film and video editing
facilities, and clubs and hotels throughout 100
companies in 15 countries.
-----
Virgin
Atlantic Airways, formed in 1984, is now the second
largest British long haul international airline and
operates a fleet of Boeing 747 and Airbus A340
aircraft to New York, Miami, Boston, Los Angeles,
Orlando, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Johannesburg,
Tokyo, Las Vegas, Delhi, Lagos, Port Harcourt,
Shanghai and the Caribbean. The airline is based on
the concept of offering a competitive and high
quality Upper Class, Premium Economy and Economy
service. The airline has won many major awards,
including Airline of the Year Award several
times.
-----
The
airline was founded on the concept of offering
competitive and high quality first class and
economy services. The airline holds many major
airline awards and recently earned "Airline of the
Year Award" for the third consecutive year.
-----
In
1993, the combined sales of Virgin Group Companies
exceeded $1 billion US. In addition to his own
business activities, Branson is a trustee of
several charities, including The Healthcare
Foundation, a leading healthcare charity
responsible for the launch of a health education
campaign named Parents Against Tobacco, aiming to
limit tobacco advertisements and sponsorships in
sports.
-----
Since
1985, Richard has actively engaged in his vocations
and been involved in a number of record-breaking
land and air speed and distance attempts.
-----
In
1986, his boat, "Virgin Atlantic Challenger II,"
rekindled the spirit of the Blue Riband by crossing
the Atlantic Ocean in the fastest recorded time
ever.
-----
One
year later, the hot air balloon called the "Virgin
Atlantic Flyer" was the first hot air balloon ever
to cross the Atlantic Ocean, and was the largest
ever flown at 2.3 million cubic feet capacity,
reaching speeds in excess of 130 mph.
-----
In
1991, Branson crossed the Pacific Ocean from Japan
to Arctic Canada, the furthest distance of 6,700
miles, again breaking all existing records with
speeds of up to 245 mph in a balloon measuring 2.6
million cubic feet. Richard found himself in
Marrakesh North Africa in 1997.
-----
During
the same year, Virgin took over Britain's two most
run-down rail franchises, CrossCountry and the West
Coast Main Line. Virgin is currently engaged in a
£2billion fleet replacement programme.
-----
And
to keep his adrenaline levels high, Richard has
been involved in a number of world record-breaking
attempts since 1985. In 1986 his boat, "Virgin
Atlantic Challenger II" rekindled the spirit of the
Blue Riband by crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the
fastest ever recorded time. This was followed a
year later by the epic hot air balloon crossing of
the same ocean in "Virgin Atlantic Flyer". This was
not only the first hot-air balloon to cross the
Atlantic, but was the largest ever flown at 2.3
million cubic feet capacity, reaching speeds in
excess of 130 miles per hour (209 k/ph).
-----
Still
after the ultimate adventure, in January 1991
Richard crossed the Pacific Ocean from Japan to
Arctic Canada, the furthest distance of 6,700
miles. Again, he broke all existing records, with
speeds of up to 245 miles -per hour in a balloon of
2.6 million cubic feet.
-----
Between
1995 and 1998 Richard Branson, Per Lindstrand and
Steve Fossett (who joined the team after the tragic
death of Alex Ritchie), made a number of attempts
to circumnavigate the globe by balloon. In late
1998 they made a record-breaking flight from
Morocco to Hawaii but their dream of a global
flight was shattered by bad weather, and then a
Swiss team successfully circumnavigated the globe
in early 1999.
-----
In
December 1999, Richard Branson was awarded a
knighthood in the Queen's Millennium New Year's
Honours List for "services to entrepreneurship".
Well done, Sir!
////
His
Charitable Work
-----
In
2002, the combined sales of the different Virgin
holding companies exceeded £4billion. In
addition to his own business activities, Richard is
a trustee of several charities including the Virgin
Healthcare Foundation, a leading healthcare charity
which was responsible for the launch of a health
education campaign relating to AIDS in 1987.
-----
The
Foundation has also become involved in a lobbying
campaign called Parents Against Tobacco, which aims
to restrict tobacco advertising and sponsorship in
sport. His help in the initial funding of charity
projects helped that organisation to raise over
£100 million, through campaigns such as Comic
Relief and many other charities. For more
information on the Virgin Group and charity, please
click here to visit our charity section.
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