Richard Branson Space Flight

[smurfchops]

He aims to be in suborbital space for four minutes. This will cost approx £434 million. I know it is his money and he can do what he likes with it but I can’t help feeling how this sort of money would pay for new hospitals, new prisons, etc in this country and so much more instead of an idiotic flight which will achieve nothing. What a plonker.

[ToraToraTora]

how have you determined what it will achieve?

[archibaldy]

He's previously pledged to give away £3 billion to charity over - half his fortune. Surely he's more than entitled to enjoy the other half or should he just sell all his companies, give it all away and go and work in Asda?

[mushroom25]

he could have decided to put the money into a hospital. but £434m won't get much of a facility - as an example it cost £1.5bn to rebuild barts - but assuming it gets built, then what? It costs about £2000 per day per bed to run a hospital, so for a 120 bed hospital (not huge in the scheme of things) that's about £87m per year someone has got to find. Who's going to pay it?

[dannyk13]

It is anticipated that, sometime in the future,interplanetry space travel will become the norm.

[Sunk]

Space Tourism has the promise to be a very lucrative business.
£434 million Is an investment on future profits.

You can watch here at 3:30pm
https://www.virgingalactic.com/

[elliemay1]

Will we have to wear a mask?

[Mamyalynne]

Watch the live stream and see :-)

http://www.virgingalactic.com/

[JimF]

His website says: "We are at the vanguard of a new industry determined to pioneer twenty-first century spacecraft, which will open space to everybody — and change the world for good."

I get the bit to the left of the hyphen being a loss-leader. Not sure about the implied philanthropy of the bit to the right of the hyphen, though.

[davebro]

why go into space - there's nowt there!

[Mamyalynne]

I am less convinced by that too Jim, is it to better the World as a whole or to escape the woes of this planet whilst taking trouble to planets anew?

[JimF]

Well, nobody's travelling to other planets any time soon, that's for sure! Unless, of course, you believe that Branson has developed warp drive!

[pixie374]

If it's his money, it's up to him, and maybe he will learn something.
But, I agree, it's a shame that some individuals or companies can afford to do this kind of thing, while others can't afford a cardboard box to sleep in.
Maybe we need to adjust the tax system.

[Tuvok]

watching it on youtube

[Sunk]

pixie374

There are people sleeping in cardboard boxes when we all jet off on our holidays. We don’t feel ashamed, and neither should Branson.

[dannyk13]

Jim//any time soon//
Yes, that is why I said sometime in the future.

[New Judge]

Yes it's certainly his dosh to do with as he wishes. However, the money it has taken to get the hardware ready is phenomenal. As well as that, the craft is really a passenger version of the North American X-15 rocket plane. This performed almost 200 similar flights, launched from a mother ship to more than 50 miles high (67 miles in one case) for some flights. But it went higher, was twice as fast and did it sixty years ago.

I've no doubt it is a huge technological achievement and I know that from humble beginnings much often results (e.g. the Wright Brothers' flight to commercial aviation). But I'm struggling to see what benefit, other than pure amusement, will come from this venture.

[jno]

Bezos is off too next week, with the world's oldest astronaut - Wally Funk, who trained as one but wasn't allowed to go anywhere because she was female.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/57692752

[Sunk]

Since 2010, the UK Government have given £2Billion to Branson’s Virgin HealthCare company to carry out NHS work.
And Virgin HealthCare hasn’t paid a penny in Corporation tax.

[pixie374]

Sunk, I already do what I can, and I don't jet off.

[jno]

VirginHealth shouldn't pay a penny more in taxes than they're forced to, same as me or anyone. The problem is with governments too shy to ask them for money while only too eager to hound the poor

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/jul/10/phd-student-hit-with-17000-bill-by-dwp-after-universal-credit-error