Now on bbc news, its time for click. This week, spaceport america. Superfast weather satellites. And using vr to understand Cancer Treatment and recovery. 50 yea rs 50 years after the first humans landed on the moon, a new space race is under way. But today, it is not just nations that are competing to put ships and people into space. Private companies are getting in on it as well. In fact, they are leading the charge. Elon musks space x already delivers cargo to the iss, and is exploring the notion of Space Tourism, putting nonprofessional astronauts into space. It has also signed up a billionaire to take a trip around the moon. Amazon boss and the worlds richest man, jeff pays us, is also planning to take passengers to the end comic edge of space by the end of 2019 and has ambitions to land humans on the moon by 202a. But there is one company that is further along the Space Tourism journey than any other, and now virgin to galactic has opened the doors to its new hq and given marc exclusive access. Fire, fire it isa it is a little after 7am, and im heading into the desert in new mexico, about 20 miles past the place called truth or consequences. The reason for that really early studies that we are going to get a very rare glimpse inside that. It bills itself as the worlds very first commercial spaceport. Thank you very much. Welcome to spaceport. Thank you. The only way that you can get to space today is with the russians, and they are currently charging us about 80 million a ticket. Spaceport america is the new home of Virgin Galactic, the Company Founded by billionaire Sir Richard Branson to take paying customers a 90 minute flights to the edge of space. The spaceports exterior is the product of british architects foster and partners. Eventually, five spaceships and two carrier aircraft will reside in the hangar. Passengers will also receive three days training here before blasting off into the upper atmosphere. And spaceship from base, you go from zero 10 on time. Spaceship from base, you go from zero 10 on time. It is also home to Mission Control where all Flight Operations are monitored from, and this is the very first time that a tv crew has been allowed to film inside this room. I am into holding 1. 62. Virgin inside this room. I am into holding 1. 62. Virgin galactic has moved all of its operations to new mexico from its original base in mojave, california. The mothership aircraft has already moved in and continues flight has already moved in and continues flight testing, but the actual spacecraft, dubbed spaceship to will arrive at spaceship america at a later date. The white knight carrier aircraft is really performing a rehearsal for a aircraft is really performing a rehearsalfor a real aircraft is really performing a rehearsal for a real spaceflight. It is going to ascend to the altitude where it would normally release a spaceship, perform a few manoeuvres, and come back around to on this runway. Scotsman dave mackay is Virgin Galactics chief pilot. He ta kes Virgin Galactics chief pilot. He takes me for a drive along the spaceports two mile runway. Takes me for a drive along the spaceports two mile runway. This is something that i wanted to do all my life. I wanted to be an astronaut andi life. I wanted to be an astronaut and i wanted to go to space. Dave successfully completed a spaceflight earlier this year and has been awarded his commercial astronauts wings. Welcome to the club, astronaut. Thanks, base. I like this club. What is the spaceship like to fly . The spaceship is amazing to fly. At launch we are sitting underneath white knight two. At release, it is like going over the top of a rollercoaster, so you get this lightness in your stomach, which is nice. Two, one, release, release, release. And there is silence just for a few seconds. We light the rocket. Fire, fire. So we accelerate away. Within a few seconds we go through the sound barrier, we go white knight. We are going to space we go mach one. This guy goes from blue to duck polluted bike in what seems like a few seconds. Immediately after shutdown you are in weightlessness. That point, we want the customers to understand. At the end of boost, you are there with no forces on your body, no motion, because it isjust sitting there, and no sound. As we are coming back down in this feathered configuration, now we are a glider, and weve got about 15 20 minutes of gliding to come back down and land at spaceport. So different, really, to what i expected, that the words that came out of my mouth was, this is unreal. Just astonishing. The curvature of the earth, you see so the curvature of the earth, you see so much of it that you now get a sense of scale, of the size of the planet. And in the meantime, you are looking out into this blackness of space, and you cant help but think, well, what else is out there . I think something that a lot of people will take away with them after their spaceflight is how thin the atmosphere is and how important it is to look after it. So far, over 600 people have signed up to take a flight with 600 people have signed up to take a flight with Virgin Galactic, with tickets costing £200,000. But, at a time of increased concern about the environment, is it responsible to send wealthy people to space for fun . Actually, environmental impact, the c02 impact of this vehicle, is much less than you would think. By air launching it, and because its so air launching it, and because its so small and uses carbon fibre, we actually dont have a very big rocket motor in the back, and so the purpose and c02 rocket motor in the back, and so the purpose and co2 emissions is for the average flight around that of a Business Class flight from new york to the uk. There is an awareness of oui to the uk. There is an awareness of our planet, documented scientifically with astronauts. They come back changed, with a greater realisation of the fragility of our ecosystem and eco severe. Realisation of the fragility of our ecosystem and eco severe. The irony of this idea isnt lost on space experts, though. The fact that they have to go that far into space above the planet to have that emotional feeling protective over the world that they live in a sort of ridiculous. But you have to put it into perspective of the fact that space travel is very limited in how much it actually contributes to c02 emissions in comparison to aircraft. Its a tiny fraction of what aircraft without death. Aircraft put out there. There have been delays and setbacks for Virgin Galactic. In 2014 one of its spacecraft crashed during flight testing, resulting in the death of its co pilot and serious injuries for the pilot. Dave mackay acknowledges the time that testing is taking. So if you look at military test programmes, the risk levels are different. We are building a safe, reliable commercial system. Its very, very different to everything that has been done before. But we still have some more flights to do, with more people in the back, and once weve done a few more of those flights, will be ready to start commercial operation, so were getting very close. It has taken longer than i guess we thought it would do initially, but i dont think, with hindsight, i dont think thats at all surprising. On paper, Space Tourism can seem a bit frivolous, but we are moving into an era of commercialisation of space travel anyway. Most government funded experiments in space, either oii funded experiments in space, either ona funded experiments in space, either on a space funded experiments in space, either on a space station or probes for other planets, are going to be shipped out to commercial companies. And so furthering space travel in that sense is actually going to benefit from Space Tourism as well. So we have to take into account not just the impact of Space Tourism in the sense of our economy, but also the sense of our economy, but also the impact on the life changing impact that the people who will be oii impact that the people who will be on those planes will go through and the impact they will have when they return to earth. When do you think Virgin Galactic is going to be putting paying customers up into space . When is the date, when is that going to happen . Right now, according to our current projections, we think that we can start commercial operations next year. So the race is on. Space could be about to get a lot more crowded. For those that can afford the price ofa for those that can afford the price of a ticket, of course. Wow, that was marc. This is marc. How was your trip to almost space . It was great, it is difficult not to get excited by spaceships. So weve got amazon doing blue 0rigin, we have spacex doing blue 0rigin, we have spacex doing a variety of projects, and now we have Virgin Galactic as well. How would you rate these Different Companies . They are all completely different, and they all have their own advantages, there plus points, but you know, virgin has got a spaceport that is pretty much up and running. Looking at blue 0rigins idea, jeff bezos are suggesting that it might be almost autonomous, so they could launch, look at the windows and see the earth, and then it will land back on the earth, without a pilot. Now, ive got an amazon echo, and alexa can barely understand me. So whether the Company Behind the technology, whether i would trust them to send me to space or not autonomously, i dont know. To be fair, though, spacex are launching rockets and lending them autonomously. Yes, they are, in venice. There is talk that they may be building one or even more spaceport here in the uk. Yes, there is. Is that a realistic goal . Yes, there is a lot of chatter about spaceport is being built in the uk. The most serious one is probably the corn will project, so a runway project. It would be very similar to what we saw out in new mexico cornwall. So aircraft launched space vehicles, so Something Like launching from virgin 0rbit, a big 747, with a rocket underneath the wind, ora 747, with a rocket underneath the wind, or a mothership, 747, with a rocket underneath the wind, ora mothership, looks as 747, with a rocket underneath the wind, or a mothership, looks as if it isa wind, or a mothership, looks as if it is a goer. Looks as if it could happen, but not for quite a long time yet. The second project is up in scotland, and that is more likely to bea in scotland, and that is more likely to be a traditional rocket launch facility. So just rocket go straight up, no runway. Ok, marc, cheers. Hello and welcome to the week intact. It was the week that twitter Ceo Jack Dorsey had his own account hacked. The profile, which has more than 4 million followers, posted a flurry of racist suites for about 15 minutes. Paypal suspended an account in the United States being used to raise funds for the ku klux klan, and facebook said it was considering testing hiding likes following a similar experiment on instagram in august. Details of a full scale rollout havent been revealed. Now, it may not be the most efficient way to send mail, but a british inventor has delivered a letter from the uk mainland to the isle of wight using only a jet powered suit, 80 years after the ideas of rocket post failed. He has followed in the footsteps of a german entrepreneur who tried to send mail by rocket to the island in 1934. Researchers at mit have developed a new robotic thread which could help treat blood clots in stroke patients. The thread is steered by magnets instead of the current handoperated method, potentially making it safer for both patients and surgeons. It is hoped in the future procedures could even be carried out remotely. And finally, is that obi wan bonjovi . No, it is the lego droid orchestra. They took 3000 hours assembling 30 ipads, 46 r2dz they took 3000 hours assembling 30 ipads, 46 r2 d2 units, 25 dogs and 24 mouse droids to recreate the iconic star wars theme. A truly stellar performance. In the uk 50 of us will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lifetimes. That is a terrifying statistic. Yet unless you 01 terrifying statistic. Yet unless you or someone close to terrifying statistic. Yet unless you or someone close to you has been through it, it can be hard to really comprehend the experience. And while eve ryo ne comprehend the experience. And while everyone because myjourney is different, one woman has made a Vr Experience to illustrate hers. Different, one woman has made a Vr Experience to illustrate hersm different, one woman has made a Vr Experience to illustrate hers. It is the last chemo today. After Award Winning filmmaker victoria marple bank has created the waiting room. Combining a smart shown smartphone should be a documentary and this Virtual Reality experience. She aims to fully immerse the audience in the unnerving experience of being up close and personal with cancer diagnosis, treatment and in this case, recovery. Iwanted cancer diagnosis, treatment and in this case, recovery. I wanted to make visible the often invisible parts of Cancer Treatment, the hair loss, the nausea, the fear and the effect on family. This reconstruction of viktorias final radiotherapy session is combined with a cgi journey through her body, looking at the cancer cells and what ct scans, mammograms and ultrasounds found. When the experience first starts, you can initially feel as though you are actually the patient, then when you look down you are not, you are a fly on the wall. What makes you want to do this as somebody looking at what was going on, rather than being the person experiencing it . We did at the beginning of the project think very ha rd beginning of the project think very hard about whether we wanted to be an embodied experience where you are effectively the patient, and ifelt quite uncomfortable with that, and i wa nted quite uncomfortable with that, and i wanted instead kind of feel it is very intimate feel as if you are looking right down on me, almost next to me. When the benefits you felt they were in conveying this in Virtual Reality . In a flat film you own account cinema and looking at what is happening to the characters, what is happening to the characters, what is happening to the story, youre not necessarily thinking about your own position within that. With a vr you are almost thinking, who am i . What am with a vr you are almost thinking, who am i . Whatam i in this space . This was shot on a headmounted oprah, some more interactive elements like allowing the user to hear their own heartbeat and breath have been trialed, but i agreed with victorias conclusion that they were actually distracting. Midway through chemo i asked my oncologist if they still have my tumour samples. When it came to sound, though, subtle effects could convey the found meaning. Hi there, it is dad. You have the sound of the scene with the nurses around you and you hear them as you are, created this relationship composite of voices, we have her son and herfather on relationship composite of voices, we have her son and her father on the right hand side on the opposite side of the mum, then we have to the left and to the right, we have her brothers. We feel that you will have a big chance. Then you have the oncologist which is basically a little bit above the sun, because he is also right in the situation in the centre of her life. Wow. That was quite something. Amazing storytelling, but also, i think the really thing that really, really stood out to me as a feeling of loneliness, of being really isolated, in being the person who has cancer go through all that treatment where your life and is another zone, and hearing all the voices of friends and family, medical experts, but still feeling quite lonely inside. Oh god, it is more than i thought. Victoria came to make this feeling there was not enough out there from the patients perspective. And now she is hoping forfunding to perspective. And now she is hoping for funding to take the project to hospitals and cancer centres to share her experience. Satellites. They are always up there, watching us, connecting us, guiding us. But is an expensive Business Building a satellite cost a lot. Getting it into orbit costs even more. That was, until 1999 when two engineers invented the idea of the cubes that, a cheap, standardised mini satellite that could be fitted into the spare space around other payloads in a rocket. Cubesat. Suddenly you didnt have to organise your own launch, you could hitch a ride on someone elses. That made satellites available to places who could not have afforded them before. Small companies, researchers and Even University students. We basically took this approach of giving the minimum resources so they could not do anything to complicated. And then you standardise it and make it small so you standardise it and make it small so two things happen. It is cheap and easy to put on a rocket, and second, you have a lot of people building the same thing so now we have numbers behind us. Before every university was trying to launch their own spacecraft. The industry is now worth hundreds of millions of pounds, and over the years we have looked at cubesats that observe the ocean, the land and mayjust create fireworks for the twenty20 tokyo olympics. 2020. And to help mark the 20th anniversary of this remarkable invention we have spent peter gibbs to find out about the latest edition, an all new weather cubesat. The weather required hearing glasgow is to be one of the main shipbuilding centres in the world. That is now long gone, but they are building a different kind of ship here now, spaceships. Just up of ship here now, spaceships. Just up the road, they are putting together a revolutionary new kind of weather satellite, and thats what im here to see. Clyde space is one of the companies who have built some of the companies who have built some of the companies who have built some of the nearly 2000 Mangayamma Yaramati of the nearly 2000 mangayamma ya ramati of the nearly 2000 Mangayamma Yaramati 2000