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The Race for Space: Billionaires Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson Take First Shot

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By Eric Elezuo

Billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson has set a new tone to how billionaires should spend. In fact, the two money men seem to be saying that they have conquered entertainment on the planet earth, and need to explore the outer space.

Consequently, and separately, the duo took a tour to the space, flying in million dollars spaceship. It was an experience that has opened to doors to holidaying in outer space, or creating a new world somewhere above the earth.

CBSNEWS.com captured the experience in the following piece. Read:

Two competing billionaires have launched successful trips to space in the race for commercial space travel. On Tuesday, Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos blasted off into space on the New Shepard spacecraft. Last week, Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson rocketed into space on his own aircraft. Here are the differences between the two flights.

Bezos and three crewmates lifted off from the Blue Origin’s West Texas launch site and rocketed to an altitude of more than 62 miles above the Earth.

Branson, two pilots and three other crew members flew on the VSS Unity spaceplane. They lifted away from the company’s Spaceport America launch site July 11 near Truth or Consequences, New Mexico.

While the liftoff locations and methods are different, their goals for commercial space flights are similar, CBS News senior space analyst Bill Harwood reports.

“The bottom line is they’re selling the same thing. They’re selling about three minutes of weightlessness and flights out of the atmosphere,” Harwood told CBSN anchor Anne-Marie Green ahead of Bezos’ flight Tuesday. “How they get there, however, is different.”

Blue Origin chose a capsule mounted on top of a rocket. “I’m reminded of Alan Shepard and his first Mercury flight that was a rocket booster and a capsule,” Harwood said, referring to NASA astronaut Alan Shepard, the first person from the U.S. to travel to space, in 1961.

“This is the same philosophy, and just like that original Mercury flight, they have an abort system, so they can get away from the rocket if there is a malfunction,” Harwood said.

Blue Origin’s New Shepard booster, which carried the capsule holding Bezos and his crewmates, was named after Shepard.

The spacecraft traveled three times the speed of sound, and once it reached an altitude of about 45 miles, the booster’s company-designed BE-3 main engine shut down and the capsule was released to fly on its own, Harwood said.

Bezos and his crewmates were then able to enjoy three minutes of weightlessness, as the capsule reached a high point just above 62 miles.

That’s the internationally recognized “boundary” between the aerodynamically discernible atmosphere and space, a distinction recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, a Switzerland-based organization that sanctions aerospace records.

The Virgin Galactic spaceplane flew slightly lower, but well above the 50-mile altitude recognized as the boundary of space by NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration, Harwood said.

Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane design is air launched, meaning another aircraft carries it about 45,000 feet and then releases it. A rocket engine then ignites and carries the plane to space.

For Virgin Galactic’s model, the rocket is an integral part of the spaceplane. “They can shut it down and then glide to a landing if there’s a problem, but you don’t get away from it in that sense. You can get away from your rocket with Blue Origin,” Harwood said.

Branson and his crew also enjoyed weightlessness and live-streamed their trip as they floated free from their seats. Only the audio from inside the Blue Origin capsule was streamed, and Bezos and his crew could be heard shouting “woo-hoo.”

Eight minutes after liftoff, three parachutes deployed on the Blue Origin crew capsule to slow it down for landing as it descended back to Earth. The flight lasted about 10 minutes.

Pilots guided the Virgin Galactic spaceplane through a spiraling descent, and landed on Spaceport America’s 12,000-foot-long runway. The flight lasted 59 minutes from takeoff to touchdown.

Both launches are complete — but the space race is not over. Blue Origin plans to launch two more passenger flights before the end of the year, but ticket prices have not been revealed.

Flights aboard Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane are believed to cost around $250,000. Both companies hope the market will support economies of scale and lower prices down the road.

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Trump Announces 5-Day Ceasefire on Strikes Against Iran, Opts for Talks

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President Trump said he suspended his plan to strike Iran’s power plants, citing what he called progress in negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump’s Saturday ultimatum to launch attacks if Iran doesn’t open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours — and the Iranian threats to retaliate against electricity infrastructure in Israel and Gulf countries —raised the potential for a dramatic escalation.

The Hormuz crisis has become a key issue preventing Trump from ending the war. The exchange of threats exacerbated the crisis even more, rattling the global energy markets.

U.S. stock futures, which had been falling earlier in the morning, suddenly surged on Trump’s post, and oil prices fell.

In an all caps post on Truth Social on Monday morning Trump wrote that the U.S. and Iran have had “very good and productive conversation” over the last two days that focused on ending hostilities in the region.

“BASED ON THE TENOR AND TONE OF THESE IN DEPTH, DETAILED, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WITCH WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK, I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD, SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS,” Trump wrote.

Iran’s foreign ministry said there had been no talks between Iran and the U.S., though some countries in the region were attempting to reduce tensions.

Source: axios.com

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Operation Epic Fury: I’m No Longer Interested in Nobel Peace Prize, Says Trump

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Trump, on Friday said that he is no longer “interested” in winning the Nobel Peace Prize, claiming he had “no idea” whether Operation Epic Fury would “get him over the finish line” with committee members in Oslo, Norway.

“I’m not interested in it,” Trump said in a phone call with the Washington Examiner, a conservative news publication.

Asked whether the subject had been broached in his recent conversations with foreign leaders, Trump said: “No, I don’t talk about the Nobel Prize.”

Trump frequently opined on his desire for the prize in the past. The winner of the 2025 prize, Venezuela opposition leader María Corina Machado, handed her prize to Trump in January in a meeting at the White House, a move the Nobel committee criticized.

Trump was clamoring for the Nobel as recently as January. In a social media post, he took credit for “single-handedly” ending eight wars — and yet “Norway, a NATO Member, foolishly chose not to give me the Noble Peace Prize.”

“But that doesn’t matter! What does matter is that I saved Millions of Lives,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Source: nbcnews.com

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World Cup 2026: Iran Tackles Trump, Says No One Can Exclude Us

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Iran says no one can exclude it from the World Cup later this year, in response to President Donald Trump’s warning that their “life and safety” would be at risk in the US.

The Iranian team also said in the social media post on Thursday that the United States should not be allowed to co-host the tournament if it could not guarantee the safety of the teams taking part.

Trump’s comments came just two days after he told FIFA chief Gianni Infantino the Iranian players would be welcome despite the Middle East war.

“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Thursday.

Iran’s team responded: “The World Cup is a historic and international event and its governing body is FIFA — not any individual, country.

“Iran’s national team, with strength and a series of decisive victories achieved by the brave sons of Iran, was among the first teams to qualify for this major tournament.

“Certainly no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup; the only country that can be excluded is one that merely carries the title of ‘host’ yet lacks the ability to provide security for the teams participating in this global event.”

The war, triggered by US-Israeli strikes on February 28, has thrown into doubt Iran’s participation at this summer’s tournament, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Trump later posted another message on his social media platform to emphasise that the event would be safe for players and spectators from around the world.

“The United States of America looks very much forward to hosting the FIFA World Cup,” Trump wrote. “Ticket sales are ‘through the roof!’”

AFP

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