Posts tagged Branson at Switched

Posts with tag branson

Richard Branson to Officiate First Wedding In Space

by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 21st 2008 at 1:04PM

Branson May Conduct First Galactic Wedding

If you were ponying up $100,000-per-seat for you and someone special to take a ride on Richard Branson's SpaceShipTwo into the outer atmosphere, chances are it'd be a moment that you'd have a hard time forgetting. That said, some couples are taking things a bit further to make that journey a memorable one. One as-yet-identified couple has plans to get married while out there, and it looks like Branson might just be the man for the job.

Virgin Galactic C.E.O. Branson, who is ordained, has already conducted a wedding while in mid-flight on a Virgin airplane (which was appropriately en-route to Las Vegas). The set of intergalactic nuptials to be exchanged on the upcoming SpaceShipTwo flight will be the first extra-atmospheric wedding. In addition to the nuptial couple, Virgin Galactic advister George Whitesides and his new wife, Loretta Hidalgo will be getting the first honeymoon in space.

So, if you thought your bride-to-be would be impressed with that trip to Acapulco, better think again! [Source: Daily Mail]

Low(er) Cost Commercial Space Flight Prototype Revealed

by Tim Stevens, posted Apr 1st 2008 at 9:15AM

SpaceShipOne from Scaled Composites was the first, the first commercial ship to probe the (sub-orbital) heavens. It's successor, SpaceshipTwo has been revealed and, for just $200,000 each, you and five friends can sign up for a two and a half hour trip waaay up there. It'd be the trip of a lifetime, but at a cost many would have to spend their entire lives saving for. Now another company, XCOR, has unveiled plans for smaller, quicker, and (presumably) cheaper flights by 2010.

The ship is called the Lynx and seats just two, one of whom has to be the pilot, of course. This means that you won't be able to take any friends along, but the relative light weight and economy of the ship means just a 25-minute round-trip to the outer limits and the potential for multiple flights in a single day. No specific word on cost just yet, but if it's not considerably more affordable than the offerings from Scaled Composites we can't see this one getting off the ground.

From Engadget

Related Links:

Interview with Virgin America's Richard Branson

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 14th 2007 at 9:00AM

Sir Richard Branson is a bit of an adventurer, something of a gadget freak, and a very, very rich man. His Virgin Group runs everything from record shops and mobile phone providers to airlines and hot air balloons. Last week, he came to the United States to celebrate the first flight of Virgin America, a sort of high-end low-cost airline that is currently making very limited flights out of New York's JFK airport, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and a few cities. Engadget was aboard and had the opportunity to ask the man about the technology on the new planes, the success of Virgin Mobile in the US, and even the thought of people yakking on their cell phones during the entire flight:

Engadget: We know Internet is in the works for Virgin America, coming in 2008, what about the "dreaded" possibility of in-flight cellphone usage that is so debated currently?

Branson: Well, the Internet, I'm delighted to say, we're going to introduce next year, and I think that once we have the Internet, I don't think phones will be that needed. I think people will be able to communicate with people on the ground through the Internet. We've gotten phone in Virgin Atlantic and we find they don't get used that much, but there is enormous demand for Internet, and that's why we're rushing ahead for that.

For the rest of the interview, go to Engadget.

Related Links:

Forbes: Nintendo making $6 profit on every Wii sold Behold Japan's Resident Evil 5 LE, with console-specific extras This Wednesday: Bird, bear, backpack join forces on XBLA	WinFlog powers up your Windows context menus Pownce gets pwned: Six Apart acquires and plans to shutter service Mount remote storage, use web apps as local apps with Gladinet
Mac internet share hits record 8.87% Pixelmator releases 1.3.1 'Welcome to Macintosh' DVD available for pre-order	Waiting for the other shoe to drop: The looming credit crisis Way Off Wall Street: Retirement dreams fade for younger workers Next target for fear mongers: Credit cards
Rumor: LEGO: Harry Potter in construction Video: Epic Prince of Persia gameplay Banjo and Kazooie head to XBLA this week	The Top 10-ish Orphan Car Brands Mulally driving to Washington, but what car should he drive? Fiends sample Superformance Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, GT40 MKI
Emotiv Epoc "brain-wave" PC controller delayed until 2009 Rumor: Next Lego game to be based on Harry Potter? Child's Play 2008 charity auction tickets on sale	Drew Rosenhaus Claims the Giants Are More Concerned About Plax's Health, Not Football MNF Live Chat: Jaguars vs. Texans Deja Vu, Again: Dusty Dvoracek Likely Out For the Season a Third Straight Year

Categories

Resources

Hot Topics

Switched Questionnaire

Hype Check

Web

Paranormal

Time Wasters

Just Tell Me What To Get

TUAW

Most Commented On (7 days)

Viagra Video Game Pulled By FDA (83)

Online Poker Cheating Costly, Unpoliceable (24)

McCain Supporters Duped by 419 Scam? (24)

Switched Video

How to Avoid ID Theft

Featured Galleries

AOL Tech Network

Latest Reviews from CNET.com

Top Product Reviews