This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Steffi Paladini, Reader in Economics & Global Security, Birmingham City University China launched Tianhe-1, the first and main module of a permanent orbiting space station called Tiangong (Heavenly Palace 天 宫), on April 29. Two additional science modules (Wentian and Mengtian) will follow in 2022 in a series of missions that will complete the station and allow it to start operations. While the station is not China’s first — the country has already…
Read MoreMonth: July 2021
SpaceX Cargo Dragon Departs the Space Station
The SpaceX Cargo Dragon resupply ship departs the International Space Station after it undocked from the Harmony module.
Read MoreWith Virgin Galactic’s launch of Richard Branson in the books, all eyes are on Blue Origin and Jeff Bezos
Next billionaire up! Richard Branson completed his much-anticipated mission on Sunday (July 11), riding to suborbital space and back on the first fully crewed flight of Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity space plane. But that was just the first of two planned billionaire space jaunts this month. Blue Origin boss Jeff Bezos is scheduled to fly to the suborbital frontier on his company’s New Shepard craft on July 20, the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It will be the first crewed spaceflight for New Shepard, which consists of…
Read MoreBillionaire Richard Branson rode a bike to Virgin Galactic’s Unity 22 launch site for his big flight today
Virgin Galactic’s billionaire founder Richard Branson decided to bike to the launch pad at Spaceport America ahead of his long-awaited trip to space. A new video from Virgin Galactic shows Branson moving past the headquarters and pulling up to the launch area of VSS Unity, situated about 55 miles (88 kilometers) north of Las Cruces, New Mexico. “The name’s Branson, Sir Richard Branson,” Branson said as he signed Virgin Galactic’s flight logbook. “Astronaut 001 with a license to thrill.” You can watch Virgin Galactic’s launch live here and on the…
Read MoreThis NASA-supported plant experiment will launch to space on Virgin Galactic’s Unity 22 flight
Three tubes of plants will be among the experiments flying to space on Virgin Galactic’s Unity space plane with the company’s founder Richard Branson and his crew today (July 11). The NASA-supported experiment will fly a flowering plant related to cabbage and mustard, known as Arabidopsis thaliana. It’s a commonly used organism in space science that has been flown not only in orbit, but as far as the moon. For Virgin Galactic, the mini-experiment will be a crucial test for the ability of human passengers to perform science experiments during…
Read MoreSpaceX’s Elon Musk and celebrities cheer on Virgin Galactic’s Unity 22 launch (video)
Virgin Galactic’s billionaire founder Richard Branson, who is poised to launch into space today (July 11) as part of Unity 22 crew got best wishes for his flight from SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Musk apparently joined the Virgin Galactic founder this morning as the space tourism company prepared to launch Branson and a crew of five on a suborbital spaceflight no earlier than 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430) GMT. The launch of SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity and its carrier plane, VMS Eve, were delayed 90 minutes by bad weather for their launch…
Read MoreVirgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Unity 22 launch with Richard Branson: Here’s when to watch and what to know.
On July 11, Virgin Galactic will make a giant leap toward commercial suborbital spaceflight. The company will launch its first fully crewed flight of its SpaceShipTwo space plane Unity with a special passenger on board: the company’s billionaire founder Richard Branson. Branson, three crewmates and two pilots will launch on the historic flight after being carried into launch position by Virgin Galactic’s carrier plane VMS Eve. They will take off from the company’s homeport of Spaceport America in New Mexico, with a live webcast chronicling the flight. Here’s everything you…
Read MoreBillionaires and Space — The Right Race (op-ed)
As the billionaire space race heats up, it’s easy to get the wrong message. Having no understanding of how we got to this point, the media often frame it as an elite group of rich boys trying to literally one-up each other as they thrust themselves into the sky. They are. But what is missing from these reports, editorials, and opinions is any understanding of what is really happening, why it is happening, and where it may lead us — all of us — not just them. For 40 years,…
Read MoreMeet the crew launching on Virgin Galactic’s 1st fully crewed flight Unity 22
Virgin Galactic is counting down to launch its Unity 22 astronauts on the company’s first fully crewed suborbital spaceflight Sunday (July 11) and the mission’s crew took some time out from training to answer questions about what they expect from space. The starring passenger is Virgin Galactic’s billionaire founder Richard Branson, but riding alongside will be Beth Moses, Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut instructor; Colin Bennett, Virgin Galactic lead operations engineer; and Sirisha Bandla, the vice president of government affairs and research operations at the company. (Their spacecraft, VSS Unity, will…
Read MoreNC, Wisconsin, NY Students to Hear from Astronauts on Space Station
Students from three states will hear from astronauts from three different countries aboard the International Space Station next week.
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