World

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

Published

3 years ago

July 24, 2021

Eric

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.

Africa

Mozambique Prison Break: 33 Persons Killed, 1500 Inmates Escape

Published

22 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Eric

A suspected riot inside a jail in Mozambique’s capital has left at least 33 people dead and 15 injured, while more than 1,500 prisoners escaped, authorities said.

Police General Commander, Bernardino Rafael, confirmed on Wednesday that 150 of the prisoners who fled the prison in Maputo have been recaptured.

Mozambique is experiencing escalating civil unrest linked to October’s disputed election, which extended long-ruling party Frelimo’s stay in power. Opposition groups and their supporters claim the vote was rigged.

While Rafael blamed protests outside the prison for encouraging the riot, Justice Minister Helena Kida told local private broadcaster Miramar TV that the unrest was started inside the prison and had nothing to do with protests outside.

“The confrontations after that resulted in 33 deaths and 15 injured in the vicinity of the jail,” Rafael told a media briefing.

The identities of those killed and injured were unclear.

A report by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) said the prisoners overpowered guards and seized AK-47 rifles, allowing them to escape the correctional facility.

Mozambican journalist, Clemente Carlos, told SABC that the escapees likely took advantage of the Christmas holiday season, when fewer guards were on duty compared with regular working days.

“This shocking incident raises urgent questions about the state of security and the justice system in Mozambique,” Adriano Nuvunga, director of the Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Mozambique, wrote on X on Wednesday.

“Now, more than ever, it is critical for authorities, civil society, and international partners to collaborate to ensure public safety and address the systemic challenges that led to this situation.”

Meanwhile, at least 21 people, including two police officers, were confirmed dead during two days of violence over election results on Monday and Tuesday, including attacks on petrol stations, police stations, and banks.

The fatalities brought the death toll in the country to 151 since October 21, according to Plataforma Decide, an election monitoring group.

Al Jazeera

USA

Trump Insists on Mass Deportation, Unveils Early Agenda

Published

2 weeks ago

December 11, 2024

Eric

The President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, has vowed to make good on his election promises of mass deportations and new tariffs in his first television interview since his re-election.

Appearing on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Trump reiterated his intention to deport every person who had entered the US without authorisation.

“I think you have to do it, and it’s a very tough thing to do, but you have rules, regulations, laws. They came in illegally,” Trump said.

“You know, the people who have been treated unfairly are the people who have been waiting on line for 10 years to come into the country.”

Trump said he was willing to work with Democrats to keep so-called “Dreamers”– undocumented people who came to the US as children and have lived in the US most of their lives – in the country but also suggested that US citizens could be deported along with their undocumented family members.

“I don’t want to be breaking up families,” Trump said. “So the only way you don’t break up the family is you keep them together and you have to send them all back.”

Trump also reiterated his intention to end birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.

Amending the Constitution is a lengthy and difficult process involving Congress and all 50 states, but Trump said he was exploring options including an “executive action” to end what he called a “ridiculous” right.

“I’m looking to make our country great. I’m looking to bring down prices because I won on two things… I won on the border, and I won on groceries,” he said.

Trump said that while he “can’t guarantee” that his plan to impose tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico would not push up prices, tariffs would ultimately help the US economy.

“I’m a big believer in tariffs. Tariffs are beautiful. They’re going to make us rich,” he said.

“Why are we subsidising these countries? If we’re going to subsidise them, let them become a State.”

During the interview, Trump also discussed plans to pull back on US support for Ukraine and said Kyiv should “probably” prepare for less aid.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Washington has approved nearly $183bn in military, humanitarian and other assistance to Ukraine, according to US government data.

Outgoing President Joe Biden has pledged a further $988m in aid and an additional $925m before he leaves office on January 20.

The Republican said he was “actively” trying to end the war in Ukraine but would not confirm how recently he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he has spoken about with admiration in the past.

“I don’t want to say anything that could impede the negotiation,” he said.

Trump said that the US would only remain in NATO if members “pay their bills” and if its majority European members “treat the US fairly” by expanding bilateral trade.

The president-elect also said that if he had remained in the White House after the 2020 election, the wars in Ukraine and Gaza would have never happened.

Trump and many of his supporters claim that the 2020 election was “stolen” by Biden and the Democrats.

Anger over the election results later led Trump supporters to storm the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021, in a failed bid to overturn the vote.

During his interview, Trump said he would consider pardoning the 944 people who received criminal sentences for their role in the uprising.

Among them, 562 had been sentenced to prison time as of August, according to the US Justice Department.

“I’m going to look at everything. We’ll look at individual cases, but I’m going to be acting very quickly… the first day,” Trump said.

“These people have been in prison three to four years, and they’re in a filthy, disgusting place that shouldn’t even be allowed to be open.”

Trump said that lawmakers who took part in a Congressional investigation into the events of January 6 should go to prison, although he stopped short of saying he would direct the FBI to investigate.

Trump also said he would not stop his chosen FBI director, Kash Patel, from investigating the so-called “deep state”.

“If they think that somebody was dishonest or crooked or a corrupt politician, I think he probably has an obligation to do so,” Trump said.

Trump sidestepped questions about whether he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Biden, although he separately accused the outgoing president of weaponising the justice system against him.

“I’m looking to make our country successful. Retribution will be through success,” Trump said.