Demand for Space Travel Is Out of This World
Five of the most interesting ideas of the week, and the stories behind them.
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Pack your bags. Richard Branson, the billionaire founder of Virgin Group, says his goal is to get commercial passenger flights into space by the end of 2018. Branson told Bloomberg News that he’s gearing up again toward getting non-astronauts like you and me into space. A fatal crash in 2014 killed co-pilot Michael Alsbury and put the mission on hold. That hasn’t scared people off, Branson says. Far from it. “We will never be able to build enough spaceships,” he said. “The demand is enormous.” He’s competing with fellow billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, both of whom have their own rocket companies. “There is definitely the demand for all three,” Branson said.