Virgin Galactic is one step closer to carrying out its mission of commercial space travel in 2022 with the unveiling of the VSS Imagine, the first in its Spaceship III class.
The reflective material used for the exterior of the ship, initially designed as part of its thermal protection system, mirrors its surroundings, an engineering requirement that then became a design choice.
"A lot of the design and the innovation happens under the hood for us," Michael Colglazier, Virgin Galactic CEO, told Cheddar.
"The big place that really matters is we can now find ways to maintain and have the ship fly more quickly than we were able to do before, and that's really, really critical because we want to fly these lots of times every year and bring a lot of people up to space."
The company has set some early goals to launch 400 flights a year from each of the world's 28 spaceports. Potential astronauts can expect to pay a hefty price tag for the inaugural flights, which will exceed $250,000 which was initially announced by the company.
Colglazier said as the company ramps up commercial space travel and the trips become more regular, those aspiring to travel to space can expect more affordable prices, noting that as with many young industries prices tend to start high before curving downward.
"Virgin Galactic is focused on human spaceflight, and what I'm most looking forward to is this becoming normalized. I think most of us look at this and not long ago would've said 'Well that's never going to happen in my lifetime,' and yet here we are today and it is happening," he noted.
Training for the space flights would be expected to take place over the course of five days with flights lasting just 90 minutes. Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic's founder, is scheduled to take a test flight later this year as part of the pitch to get people on board.
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Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
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