SpaceX gets ready to launch first all-civilian crew to orbit from Cape Canaveral Yet another billionaire entrepreneur is set to ride into space this week, strapped inside the capsule of a SpaceX rocketship, as part of an astro-tourist team poised to make history as the first all-civilian crew launched into Earth orbit. Jared Isaacman, the American founder and chief executive of e-commerce firm Shift4 Payments, will lead three fellow spaceflight novices on a trip expected to last three days from blastoff at Cape Canaveral, Florida, to splashdown in the Atlantic. FILE PHOTO: With a view of the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building at left, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket soars upward from Launch Complex 39A carrying the company’s Crew Dragon Endeavour capsule and four Crew-2 astronauts towards...
Read MoreTag: Elon Musk
Three billionaire entrepreneurs - Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Richard Branson - are each vying to usher in a new era of private commercial space travel. Here is how their rival ventures compare in the race to open up space travel. TICKETS Bezos, Branson and Musk have been investing billions of dollars in their space startups, each promising to ferry paying customers on rides to space - and it will cost a pretty penny to be part of it. Branson's Virgin Galactic is reported to have more than 600 ticket reservations already, priced around $250,000. It expects to begin a full commercial service in 2022 and eventually hopes to slash the ticket price to around $40,000. FILE PHOTO: Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos addresses the media about the New Shepard rocket booster an...
Read MoreBlue Origin, billionaire Jeff Bezos' rocket company, said on Wednesday it is targeting July 20 for its first suborbital sightseeing trip on its New Shepard spacecraft, a landmark moment in a competition to usher in a new era of private commercial space travel. Blue Origin also said it will offer one seat on the first flight to the winning bidder of a five-week online auction, the proceeds of which will be donated to the space firm's foundation. FILE PHOTO: Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos addresses the media about the New Shepard rocket booster and Crew Capsule mockup at the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States April 5, 2017. REUTERS/Isaiah J. Downing The New Shepard rocket-and-capsule combo is designed to autonomously fly six passengers more...
Read MoreElon Musk’s SpaceX was set to launch a prototype of its Mars rocket Starship in its highest-altitude “hop” test from the space company’s Texas facilities on Tuesday, a key trial for a rocket system that Musk hopes will land humans on the moon and eventually Mars. Musk sought to tamp down expectations for Starship’s first suborbital flight using three of its new Raptor rocket engines, predicting a 30% chance of success in reaching an altitude of more than 40,000 feet. That would be vastly higher than the vehicle’s first two tests at altitudes of 500 feet. The sun sets as SpaceX prepares their super heavy-lift Starship SN8 rocket for a test launch this week at the company's facilities in Boca Chica, Texas, U.S. December 1, 2020. REUTERS/Gene Blevins “With a test such as this, succe...
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