Billionaire blastoffs put high-stakes space ventures back in the spotlight
Share: Billionaire Richard Branson's leap into space is a made-for-the-internet media event that shows Virgin Galactic is nearly ready to take uber-wealthy tourists on celestial journeys. The opening of the launch window for VSS Unity comes just nine days before Amazon founder Jeff Bezos hopes to make his inaugural space visit on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket. Branson insists this isn't a space race, but that comparison seems inescapable, probably because it's fun to think that billionaires' lives are governed by petty little dramas just like ours. Operation Billionaire Blastoff provides t...