Billionaire Richard Branson's spaceship company Virgin Galactic said on Friday it received approval from the U.S. aviation safety regulator to fly people to space, turning up the pressure on rivals in the nascent and expensive space tourism sector. The company's shares surged as much as 40% to $56.40, their highest since February, after more than doubling in value this year. FILE PHOTO: Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo flies over the Mojave Desert in California April 29, 2013 REUTERS/Gene Blevins The approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) comes at a critical time for Branson as his space venture faces off against Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk's SpaceX. Bezos, Branson and Musk have been investing billions of dollars on th...
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Blue 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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