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.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
