WASHINGTON, DC — Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is now ready to send humans to the edge of space as the Federal Aviation Administration on Monday expanded the company’s operator license for full commercial space-launch. The company’s first manned space flight will take place next week on July 20, launching from its Launch Site One facility
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TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, New Mexico — Mission accomplished. Swashbuckling billionaire Sir Richard Branson flew to the lower edge of space and back to planet Earth on Sunday in the first fully crewed flight from his private space tourism firm Virgin Galactic. It was his boldest adventure yet, beating out fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos. The so-called Unity
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SPACEPORT AMERICA, New Mexico — Richard Branson became the first person to ride into space aboard a rocket he helped fund. The supersonic space plane developed by his company, Virgin Galactic, roared into the sky over southern New Mexico Sunday morning, carrying Branson and three fellow crewmembers. Branson successfully returned to earth aboard Virgin’s rocket-powered plane,
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SPACEPORT AMERICA, New Mexico — El Paso native R&B singer Khalid’s new single, “New Normal,” got its premiere Sunday during Virgin Galactic’s “Unity 22” mission aboard the Virgin Space Ship Unity, where the ship’s crew was able to hear it. After the VSS Unity returned to earth at southern New Mexico’s Spaceport America, Khalid performed
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — Roughly 100 people turned out to witness history on Sunday at two viewing parties hosted by the city of Las Cruces to commemorate Virgin Galactic’s historic Unity 22 flight from Spaceport America. “It’s such a big deal,” said Las Cruces resident Blanca Martinez-Rolle. “I’m getting kind of choked up because it
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SPACEPORT AMERICA, New Mexico — Billionaire Sir Richard Branson was set for a delayed launch to the edge of space Sunday morning in the first fully crewed flight from his private space tourism firm Virgin Galactic. Despite a 90-minute delay until 8:30 a.m. for lift-off due to weather conditions, Branson arrived at southern New Mexico’s Spaceport America
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(Editor’s note: Click here to watch ABC-7’s LIVE launch coverage from 6-7AM and 8-10AM) UPDATE: Billionaire Sir Richard Branson’s launch to the edge of space on Sunday morning in the first fully crewed flight from his private space tourism firm Virgin Galactic was delayed, VG officials announced, citing “overnight weather conditions.” Instead of the launch taking
Continue Reading(Editor’s note: LIVE coverage begins at 6AM Sunday on ABC-7. You can watch it by clicking here.) Think space is boring? Sir Richard Branson, one of the most flamboyant entrepreneurs of our time is changing up the spaceflight experience. Stephen Colbert on mission commentary, Khalid providing the music. Branson wants to make space cool again and is
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SPACEPORT AMERICA, New Mexico — Sir Richard Branson is set to briefly leave earth’s atmosphere from southern New Mexico on Sunday, risking it all to usher in a new era of space tourism that has been propelled by a billionaire-backed commercial space industry. “We’ve spent 17 years trying to get to this stage,” Branson said
Continue ReadingSPACEPORT AMERICA, New Mexico — Virgin Galactic will become the first rocket company to launch the boss when Richard Branson straps into one of his sleek, shiny space planes this weekend. The self-described tie-loathing adventurer and troublemaker will join five company employees for Sunday morning’s test flight from the southern New Mexico desert near Truth
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — To commemorate Virgin Galactic’s historic Unity 22 test flight from Spaceport America on July 11, the City of Las Cruces will host free, in-person watch parties featuring a live stream of the launch. The watch parties will be held at the Las Cruces City Hall Council Chambers, 700 N. Main,
Continue ReadingCNN’s Rachel Crane looks at the race between billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson to be the first in space.
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LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — The Las Cruces International Airport is reaping the rewards of Sir Richard Branson’s endeavor to space. They have already had several private planes land at the airport and are expecting another 6 to 10 before takeoff on Sunday. Other airports in the area aren’t seeing the same uptick in air
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TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, New Mexico – While international excitement builds for Sunday’s historic Virgin Galactic launch, taxpayers in Doña Ana and Sierra counties continue to pay off the multimillion-dollar Spaceport America complex. “It’s like anything you bet on,” explained Shannon Reynolds, chairman of the tax district board for Spaceport America and a Doña Ana County
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MESILLA, New Mexico – Ahead of the historic Virgin Galactic launch on Sunday, the owner of La Posta restaurant in Mesilla said he doesn’t have the staff members to serve the influx of visitors to the Spaceport. “Our staffing is limited,” said Tom Hutchinson, the owner of La Posta. “We have challenges. We’re going to
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SPACEPORT AMERICA, New Mexico — Two billionaires are putting everything on the line this month to ride their own rockets into space from the Borderland. It’s intended to be a flashy confidence boost for customers seeking their own short joyrides. The lucrative, high-stakes chase for space tourists will unfold on the fringes of space —
Continue ReadingBy Jackie Wattles, CNN Business Richard Branson will take a rocket-powered space plane on a 2,400 mile-per-hour ride to the edge of space this weekend. That’s if everything goes according to plan. And there’s plenty that could go wrong. The rocket motor could fail to light up. The cabin could lose pressure and threaten the
Continue Reading LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — Five days before British billionaire Sir Richard Branson launches into space, his team has booked half the hotel rooms at the Ramada hotel in Las Cruces, staff confirmed. “It’s exciting!” said Maryann Costa, an administrative assistant at the hotel. “Everybody’s like, ‘Yeah! This is going to be great!'” She hopes
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TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, New Mexico — British billionaire Richard Branson plans to beat fellow billionaire and rival Jeff Bezos to space. Branson’s company, Virgin Galactic, made a surprise announcement Thursday that he will attempt to fly in Virgin’s rocket-powered plan on July 11 from southern New Mexico — nine days before Bezos’s planned July 20th launch
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