Who hasn¡¯t looked up to the heavens with awe and wonder? It isn¡¯t just the vastness of space that inspires such feelings; it is the mystery about what is ¡°out there¡± and the logical certainty ¡ª and emotionally terrifying probability ¡ª that humankind is not alone in the universe.
There is too the extraordinary ¡°pull¡± of space, captured best by poet and pilot John Gillespie Magee Jr., who ¡°slipped the surly bonds of Earth.¡± Who has not dreamed of that same passage, literally and actually floating across the sky?
Richard Branson launched Virgin Galactic to make that dream a reality, to promote space tourism for ordinary citizens (or at least those with hefty bank accounts). Founded in 2004, Virgin Galactic was established ¡°to transform access to outer space.¡± The development of a reusable vehicle to access outer space was the centerpiece of this vision.
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