Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson prepares to spray champagne after crew aboard the Virgin Galactic passenger rocket plane VSS unit at the edge of spaceport in America near Truth or Conscience on July 11, 2021, in New Mexico, USA.
Joe Skipper | Reuters
Colorado Springs, Colorado – With less than a year to go into space with the Virgin Galactic, Sir Richard Branson looks forward to the next trade flight with Elon Musk and a flight with SpaceX.
“Hopefully, one day I’ll be able to get on one of his spaceships, and he’ll be able to get on one of us,” Branson told CNBC on Tuesday.
Branson achieved his dream of reaching space in July 2021, almost two decades after the founding of the Virgin Galactic. The Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday honored the first astronauts of the Virgin Galactic Unity 22 flight crew – Branson, Sirisha Bandla and Colin Bennett – with wings, recognizing them for crossing the 80-kilometer (50-mile) altitude recognized by the United States. Boundaries of space.
Branson mentions that he and Musk bought a Virgin Galactic ticket “a good friend” and his fellow billionaire “long ago”. SpaceX launched astronauts into orbit in 2020 and has so far sent 18 people into space.
Branson’s role in the future of the Virgin Galactic
Shares of Virgin Galactic have fallen nearly 33% so far this year.
Virgin Galactic is in the midst of a lengthy renovation of its spacecraft VSS Unity and carrier aircraft VMS Eve. The company moved away from ending its test flight campaign in October and delayed its commercial space tourism service in the fourth quarter of this year. In February, the company said renewals were on schedule and would be completed by the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic has changed its structure and brand under CEO Michael Colglazier, who was appointed in July 2020. Earlier this year, now-ex-chair Chamath Palihapatia resigned from the board of Virgin Galactic and the company unveiled a rebranding of its logo, replacing Branson’s Iris with the purple outline of its spacecraft.
In addition, Branson has reduced its ownership in the sale of four bulk stocks of Virgin Galactic since the company went public, although it remains the largest sole shareholder through The Virgin Group.
Branson said he worked for Virgin Galactic on “the heavy-lifting aspect of my work.” But he promised that he would be “always involved” with the company.
“I had lunch with Michael [Colglazier] Today, and we have a long list of things I plan to do … so I don’t think I’m going to get out of here, “Branson said.” I’ll definitely help where I can. “