Page 44 - Space Plane News Today

>> reporter: jeff bezos blue origin has also been flying test flights. no pilots, all remote controlled from the ground. bezos is set to fly on tuesday, july 20th. coming along for the ride veteran pilot and one-time nasa female astronaut candidate wally funk. at 82, her first ride into space will make her the oldest person to go there. also flying, an anonymous person who bid $28 million for the trip. blue origin uses a rocket. virgin galactic uses a space plane with wings that unfold for landi...

Like you, my hands are everything to me. but i was diagnosed with dupuytrens contracture. and it got to the point where things i took for granted got tougher to do. thought surgery was my only option. turns out i was wrong. so when a hand specialist told me about nonsurgical treatments, it was a total game changer. like you, my hands have a lot more to do. learn more at factsonhand.com today. >> garrett: the race to space between richard branson and amazons jeff bezos takes off this weekend. bra...

To space. >> rachel crane has more. >> reporter: the countdown is on. in just hours entrepreneur richard branson hopes to become the first person to ride a self--funded rocket into suborbital space. >> astronaut, zero zero 1, richard branson. >> a launch two decades in the making. tell me, how do you feel. >> i managed to avoid getting excited for 17 years since we started building space ships and mother ships and space ports and all these things. i finally got the call from the chief engineer s...

But it is certainly not a rest day here at space port america and richard branson, his objective on this flight is to test the astronaut experience, and nobody is more excited about that than branson himself. take a listen to what he had to say. >> im going up in a -- as someone there to test the customer experience p.m. im going to enjoy every second from the beginning to the end. >> reporter: victor, currently around 600 people have already put down deposits of around $200,000 to hitch a ride ...

This rocket-powered space plane will be taking off from. that is a 12,000-foot runway that you are looking at, and that is also where the rocket-powered space plane will land as well as its mothership, named eve. she will also be landing on this runway. and here at the facility, i mean, it is a bevy of activity. tents are being erected, hundreds of people are on location. engineers checking all the systems, making sure that the space flight itself but also the event surrounding the space flight ...

New mexico. thank you so much for that. lets speak to an expert on the details about the space flight. joining us now analyst miles obrien. miles, appreciate you coming on. i want you to assess the danger involved in this flight? it is a rocket powered space plane in development nearly two decades and had a number of delays, safety hazards an during development there was an accident in which a test pilot was killed, right? >> yes, boris. you know, this goes back to 2004 and the unsorry x prize w...

Absolutely everything will join us on "new day" later in the show. i mean, is there anything she cant do? >> i know. >> i also wonder are these skills somehow interrelated? how does this work that she can manage all of these things, all of these words, all of these basketballs? i just want to know how that works. shes unbelievable. >> and shes ridiculous good at math. i dont think theres anything shes not good at. >> awesome. cant wait to speak with her. this weekend richard branson is set to ...

Launches like a traditional rocket. but the virgin galactic space craft as we saw in the video, it launches from underneath an airplane when it reaches a certain altitude. why the two different methods? what are the risks an benefits of each one? >> so the white knight two on virgin galactic is taking off like a plain. you have a vehicle underneath it launched when it gets to 50,000 feet and the engines from the space ship launch and get you to thigher altitude, which will give you -- it is sub ...

Alex Wong/Getty Images; Hollis Johnson/Business Insider Virgin Galactics Richard Branson may try to beat Jeff Bezos to space next month, an industry blog suggests. Virgin Galactic did not deny the claim when asked by Insider, saying that Branson is expected to fly in the summer. An outside expert says the rumored July 4 weekend launch date is "very doable." The billionaire space race appears to be in full swing, and its getting close. Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Bra...

The worlds richest man has scheduled the journey forjuly the 20th. our science correspondent rebecca morelle reports. heading to the edge of space. this is the new shepard rocket. so far, its only flown with mannequins. now its ready for its first real passengers, and jeff bezos, who owns the spacecraft, has announced he will be on board, along with his brother. it changes your relationship with this planet, with humanity. its one earth. i want to go on this flight because its a thing ive wanted...