# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Who We Are Where We Are What We Build WhiteKnightTwo SpaceShipTwo Propulsion Systems

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Virgin Galactic is launching a new space age, where all are invited along for the ride.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
From the beginning of 2020 through Feb. 20, when Virgin Galactic (NYSE:) hit an all-time high of $42.49, SPCE stock had risen at a nice, gradual pace.

Since then, it's been up on four occasions and down on eight, including the March 9 bloodbath. As I write this, SPCE is down 56% from its all-time high. With the coronavirus from China, record-low bond yields and falling oil prices all wreaking havoc on the markets, volatility has become the new norm.

Virgin Galactic might not be an appropriate bet for 99% of the investing population. But if you can handle a planeload of volatility, SPCE could very well be the next Tesla

The Naysayers Were Wrong About Tesla

I can remember when the naysayers said that Tesla would never be able to produce enough vehicles to match the most prominent car companies in the world.

"As Tesla attempts to scale, it's likely to discover that its internal impediments, combined with competitor responses, make it much harder than anticipated," Thomas Bartman wrote in April 2015. "The symptoms of these problems will manifest as product launch delays, cost overruns, and higher than expected prices. Better approaches would be either to focus exclusively on a high-end niche that is too small to entice incumbents or to enter the bottom of the market with a low-price product and disruptive business model."

Well, Bartman sort of got it right. Tesla did introduce a product at the bottom end of the electric vehicle market (Model 3). However, the author failed to grasp the persistence and resilience of its CEO, Elon Musk.

Tesla sold 367,500 vehicles in 2019, 50% more than in 2018. Not only that, it finished the fourth quarter selling 112,000, 15% more on a sequential basis. That's a sign Tesla has figured out how to scale its manufacturing process.

In 2017, David Einhorn, a well-known hedge fund manager, said that Tesla would never be profitable.

"If the purpose of a business is to advance the future, to have science experiments and cool buzzword things, you would get into Tesla. But [CEO Elon Musk] has yet to take any money and turn it into a profitable business," Einhorn told in June 2017.

Einhorn was then asked if he would rather give $20 billion to Musk or General Motors

"If [the purpose of the money] is to earn a profit and return, I think you would give it to Mary Barra because GM is interested in its return on capital," Einhorn answered.

Since then, Tesla has delivered six profitable quarters, announcing in January that GAAP profitability should be the norm moving forward.

That's great news if you're long. It's not so good if you're short its stock.

How Does This Affect SPCE Stock?

InvestorPlace analyst Louis Navellier recently discussed why he felt Virgin Galactic stock was ready to take flight . It's important to note that his commentary was from March 2, one week before the market's 1,000-plus point correction, but I think the heart of his argument still applies post-apocalypse.

Navellier believes that Virgin Galactic is a visionary company in much the same way Tesla is.

"I see the company as visionary. The share price, which has retraced from its peak, is reasonable for long-term investors," Navellier wrote. "It won't happen overnight, but I expect the naysayers to come around as Virgin Galactic proves itself as a first mover in the exciting space tourism niche."

The article mentions 8,000 people have registered for the opportunity to spend $250,000 for a flight to space. Navellier believes the number could skyrocket as the first flight approaches later this year.

What Navellier doesn't discuss are the commercial possibilities beyond space tourism.

"Growing a business beyond space tourism promises to generate billions of dollars in new business for Virgin Galactic in the global aviation services market," Yahoo! Finance anchor Adam Shapiro wrote March 1. "Virgin Galactic estimates the total addressable market, TAM, is $900 billion. The spaceline, as it calls itself, plans to access the premium side of that market, which it estimates to be around $300 billion."

For example, imagine being able to go from Los Angeles to Tokyo in just two hours. Whether you're sending travelers or cargo on this flight, companies would likely be willing to pay up for that privilege much like they used to with the Concorde.

"This is something that I think everybody wants. Who wouldn't want to get to go across the ocean or something significantly faster?" CEO George Whitesides told Yahoo! Finance.

Whitesides discussed the company's plans for 2020 in late February. He was quick to point out that revenue was not the primary focus for the year. Instead the company hopes to demonstrate that it can establish a consistent flight schedule for SpaceShipTwo and subsequent vehicles to meet the consumer demand.

The Bottom Line

As someone who's always respected Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, the fact that Virgin owns 58.7% of Virgin Galactic suggests to me that if it's not successful commercializing space flight, it won't be from a lack of trying.

Yes, SPCE stock is speculative at this point in its history. However, since it's down 56% in less than a month, buying shares now is much easier to justify.

Sometimes, like Tesla, you can't see the forest for the trees. Big-picture thinkers will want to own SPCE over the long haul. However, if the current volatility makes you ill, you have no business even considering it.

Virgin Galactic, in my opinion, is a speculative buy.
Will Ashworth has written about investments full-time since 2008. Publications where he's appeared include InvestorPlace, The Motley Fool Canada, Investopedia, Kiplinger and several others in both the U.S. and Canada. He particularly enjoys creating model portfolios that stand the test of time. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. At the time of this writing Will Ashworth did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Is Virgin Galactic Stock the Next Tesla?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
From the beginning of 2020 through Feb. 20, when Virgin Galactic (NYSE:) hit an all-time high of $42.49, SPCE stock had risen at a nice, gradual pace. Since then, it's been up on four occasions and down on eight, including the March 9 bloodbath. As I write this, SPCE is down 56% from its all-time high.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Virgin Group Ltd. is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded by entrepreneurs Sir Richard Branson and Nik Powell.

Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding company; however Virgin's business and trading activities date back to the 1970s. The net worth of Virgin Group was estimated at £5-5.5 billion as of November 2014.[needs update ]

The brand name "Virgin" arose when Richard Branson and Nik Powell formed a record shop. They considered themselves virgins in business. Branson has described the "V" in the logo as an expressive tick, representing the Virgin seal of approval.

The original logo was a completely different design intended to be used for the record company that was founded by Richard Branson and Nik Powell. According to Richard Branson in interviews and on the Virgin website, the more recent signature logo was based on one that a designer scribbled on a napkin after a design meeting. After signing the Sex Pistols to the label it was clear that there would need to be a rethink on the design.[according to whom? ]

Virgin Group has its headquarters at The Battleship Building in the Paddington district of the City of Westminster. Previously it was in The School House in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.

The Virgin Group of companies have a complex structure that contains elements of a generic conglomerate and a keiretsu, and sometimes it simply licences its brand. Examples of licensing are Virgin Records and Virgin Media, which are owned by Universal Music Group and Liberty Global respectively.

In mid-May 2013, the Virgin Group expressed its intention to seek out opportunities in Australia's healthcare industry to consolidate on the Group's Australian fitness centres. The Group also runs over 100 National Health Service (NHS) services in the United Kingdom and the healthcare division of medical services group Assura after entering the British healthcare industry in 2011.

Virgin Group announced the establishment of Virgin Voyages on 4 December 2014 with financial backing from Bain Capital. The cruise line would be led by CEO Tom McAlpin, would have two new large ships built and be based in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area.

Virgin StartUp

Virgin StartUp is the Virgin Group's not-for-profit company, helping entrepreneurs across the UK to start, fund and scale their business. In 2013, Sir Richard visited Boxpark in Shoreditch, London, to launch the new organisation, revealing that he wanted to support anyone that had the same dreams and ambitions that he did as a young boy: "It was £300 from my mum that sparked the Virgin adventure 40 years ago. Today, young people need that same help and I believe Virgin StartUp will provide it - with access to early capital, strong mentorship, advice and promotion."

The organisation became a delivery partner for the UK Government's Start Up Loans Company, providing loan finance of between £500 and £25,000, advice, and mentoring to thousands of start-ups across the country. In 2016, it was awarded European Regional Development Funding and subsequently launched Ready, Steady, Grow with Virgin StartUp, a programme of support aimed at start-ups that were ready to grow. A year later, it launched the UK's first equity-based crowdfunding accelerator programme, Crowdboost.

By 2018, the organisation had supported over 11,000 UK-based entrepreneurs, with over £35m in pre-seed funding.

Foodpreneur

In 2014, Branson and Virgin StartUp launched the "Foodpreneur" food and drink focused start-up competition. Winners received mentorship from Branson, legal support, and brand counseling. The 2014 winners included Proper Beans, Killer Tomato, Sweetpea Pantry, and Sweet Virtues.

In 2015, winners were given the opportunity to pitch Target Corporation buyers in the US. The 2015 winners included Pip & Nut, Double Dutch Drinks, Harry Bromptons, Cauli Rice, and Mallow and Marsh.

Only one start-up was announced winner of the 2017 Foodpreneur prize, The Snaffling Pig Co., who won a six-week rental space at Intu Lakeside, the retail center with the highest foot traffic in the U.K.

Absolute Radio: formerly Virgin Radio UK, rebranded in 2008

Air Nigeria: Nigerian national airline launched as Virgin Nigeria, shares sold in 2010

Virgin Airship and Balloon Company: Operating hot air balloons and airships for advertisers

Liquid Comics: comic book producer formerly known as Virgin Comics-sold to management in 2008

Vie at Home: cosmetics retailer formerly known as Virgin Vie, sold to management in 2009

Virgin America: North American airline, sold to Alaska Air Group on 14, Dec 2016

Virgin Brides: retailer specialising in bridal wear

Virgin Cars: online car retailer, ceased trading in 2005

Virgin Balloon Flights: offering hot air balloon flights to the public

Virgin Charter: online marketplace of private aircraft seat bookings

Virgin Cinemas: sold to UGC in 1999

Virgin Digital Help: technical support

Virgin Drinks: drink manufacturer

Virgin Electronics: electronics retailer

Virgin Energy: joint venture energy provider, sold to EDF Energy

Virgin Express: airline based in Brussels, merged with SN Brussels Airlines in 2006 to form Brussels Airlines

V Festival: British music festival sponsored by the Virgin Group

V Festival: an Australian version of the V Festival

Virgin Festival: a North American version of the V Festival

Virgin Films: film production company

Virgin Games: sold to Gamesys in 2013

Virgin Green Fund: shut down in 2014

Virgin Health Bank: sold to Qatar Foundation

Virgin Interactive: Game Developer and publisher, bought by various companies, and renamed Avalon Interactive in 2003

Virgin Limousines: a former limousine service that operated mostly in the US and Canada. It operated for 14 years, until November 2010.

Virgin Media (including Virgin Mobile UK): UK Cable TV, broadband internet and Fixed and Mobile telephony provider-bought by Liberty Global

Virgin Mobile Australia: mobile phone service provider in Australia-shares sold to Optus in 2006

Virgin Mobile Canada: mobile phone service provider in Canada-shares sold to Bell Mobility in 2009

Virgin Mobile France: mobile phone service provider in France-shares sold to Numericable-SFR in 2014

Virgin Mobile India: mobile phone service provider in India-shares sold to Tata Teleservices in 2015

Virgin Mobile USA: mobile phone service provider in the USA-shares sold to Sprint Corporation in 2009, brand is still used under license

Virgin Money Australia: sold to Bank of Queensland

Virgin Money US: sold in 2010

Virgin One account: shareholding sold to co-owner (RBS) in 2003

Virgin Sun Airlines: scheduled and charter airline, closed in 2001

Virgin Play: Spanish game distributor and publisher, filed for liquidation and closed in 2009

Virgin Snow, 1986 joint venture with Bladon Lines Ski Vacations

Virgin Trains ExpressCoach: former operator of inter-city bus & coach services

Virgin CrossCountry: former operator of the Cross Country railway franchise in the United Kingdom, services transferred to Arriva in 2007 (51%)

Virgin EMI Records: soundtrack label-owned by Universal Music Group

Virgin Racing: Formula One motor racing team

Virginware: clothing retailer

Virgin Wines: online wine market, sold to Direct Wines in 2005

Virgin Trains: train operating company for the West Coast Mainline. Renewed franchise bid rejected and replaced by Avanti West Coast in December 2019.

Virgin Trains East Coast: train operating company changed ownership and rebranded as London North Eastern Railway in June 2018

The parent company, Virgin Group Holdings Ltd, is registered in the British Virgin Islands. Richard Branson and his family hold a £2.7 billion stake in this offshore, tax-free, tax haven company.

The group's health business received significant media coverage over its legal battle with NHS groups. It sued clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in Surrey after it lost out on an £82 million contract to provide children's health services across the country. The NHS bodies settled out of court with a £328,000 payout to Virgin Care, resulting in some controversy. More than 100,000 people backed a petition calling on the company to stop "dragging the NHS through the courts".

In 2019, it was discovered that cell phones being sold by Virgin subsidiary company Assurance Wireless came with unremovable Chinese malware preinstalled.

Business data for Virgin Group Ltd.:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Virgin Group Ltd. is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded by entrepreneurs Sir Richard Branson and Nik Powell. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding company; however Virgin's business and trading activities date back to the 1970s.

# data[].attributes.body
Sir Richard Branson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British business magnate, investor, author and philanthropist. He founded the Virgin Group in the 1970s, which controls more than 400 companies in various fields.

Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneur at a young age. His first business venture, at the age of 16, was a magazine called Student. In 1970, he set up a mail-order record business. He opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records-later known as Virgin Megastores-in 1972. Branson's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he started Virgin Atlantic airline and expanded the Virgin Records music label. In 2004, he founded spaceflight corporation Virgin Galactic, based at Mojave Air and Space Port, noted for the SpaceShipTwo suborbital spaceplane designed for space tourism.

In March 2000, Branson was knighted at Buckingham Palace for "services to entrepreneurship". For his work in retail, music and transport (with interests in land, air, sea and space travel), his taste for adventure, and for his humanitarian work, he has become a prominent global figure. In 2007, he was placed in the Time 100 Most Influential People in The World list.

In April 2018, listed Branson's estimated net worth at US$5.1 billion.

Branson was born in Blackheath, London, to Eve Branson ( née Evette Huntley Flindt; born 1924), a former ballet dancer and air hostess, and Edward James Branson (1918-2011), a barrister. He has two younger sisters. His grandfather, the Right Honourable Sir George Arthur Harwin Branson, was a judge of the High Court of Justice and a Privy Councillor. Branson was educated at Scaitcliffe School, a prep school in Surrey, before briefly attending Cliff View House School in Sussex.

His third great-grandfather, John Edward Branson, left England for India in 1793; John Edward's father, Harry Wilkins Branson, later joined him in Madras. From 1793, four generations of his family was at Cuddalore. On the show Finding Your Roots, Branson was shown to have 3.9% South Asian (Indian) DNA, likely through intermarriage.. Later, he claimed that one of this great-grandmothers was an Indian named Ariya.[citation needed ] He attended Stowe School, an independent school in Buckinghamshire until the age of sixteen.

Branson has dyslexia and had poor academic performance; on his last day at school, his headmaster, Robert Drayson, told him he would either end up in prison or become a millionaire. Branson's parents were supportive of his endeavours from an early age. His mother was an entrepreneur; one of her most successful ventures was building and selling wooden tissue boxes and wastepaper bins. In London, he started off squatting between 1967 and 1968.

After failed attempts to grow and sell both Christmas trees and budgerigars, Branson launched a magazine named Student in 1966. The first issue of Student appeared in January 1968, and a year later, Branson's net worth was estimated at £50,000. Though not initially as successful as he hoped, the magazine later became a vital component of the mail-order record business Branson started from the same church he used for Student. Branson used the magazine to advertise popular albums, driving his record sales. He interviewed several prominent personalities of the late 1960s for the magazine including Mick Jagger and R. D. Laing.

Earning enough money from his record store, Branson in 1972 launched the record label Virgin Records with Nik Powell. The name "Virgin" was suggested by one of Branson's early employees because they were all new at business. Branson bought a country estate north of Oxford in which he installed a residential recording studio, The Manor Studio. He leased studio time to fledgling artists, including multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield, whose debut album Tubular Bells (1973) was the first release for Virgin Records and became a chart-topping best-seller.

Virgin signed such controversial bands as the Sex Pistols, which other companies were reluctant to sign. Virgin Records would go on to sign other artists including the Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel, XTC, Japan, UB40, Steve Winwood and Paula Abdul, and to become the world's largest independent record label. It also won praise for exposing the public to such obscure avant-garde music as Faust and Can. Virgin Records also introduced Culture Club to the music world.

Branson's net worth was estimated at £5 million by 1979, and a year later, Virgin Records went international.

Branson's first successful entry into the airline industry was during a trip to Puerto Rico. His flight was cancelled, so he decided to charter his own plane the rest of the way and offer a ride to the rest of the stranded passengers for a small fee to cover the cost.

In 1982, Virgin purchased the gay nightclub Heaven. In 1991, in a consortium with David Frost, Branson made an unsuccessful bid for three ITV franchisees under the CPV-TV name. The early 1980s also saw his only attempt as a producer-on the novelty record " Baa, Baa, Black Sheep", by Singing Sheep in association with Doug McLean and Grace McDonald. The recording was a series of sheep baa-ing along to a drum-machine-produced track and reached number 42 in the UK charts in 1982.

Branson formed Virgin Atlantic Airways and Virgin Cargo in 1984. He formed Virgin Holidays in 1985.

In 1992, to keep his airline company afloat, Branson sold the Virgin label to EMI for £500 million. Branson said that he wept when the sale was completed because the record business had been the very start of the Virgin empire. In 1993, Branson took what many saw as being one of his riskier business exploits by entering into the railway business. Virgin Trains won the franchises for the former Intercity West Coast and Cross-Country sectors of British Rail. He created V2 Records in 1996 to re-enter the music business, owning 5% himself. Virgin also acquired European short-haul airline Euro Belgian Airlines and renamed it Virgin Express.

Branson launched Virgin Mobile in 1999, and airline Virgin Blue in Australia (now named Virgin Australia) in 2000.

On 25 September 2004, Branson announced the signing of a deal under which a new space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, will license the technology behind SpaceshipOne-funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and designed by aeronautical engineer Burt Rutan-to take paying passengers into suborbital space. Virgin Galactic (wholly owned by Virgin Group) plans to make flights available to the public with tickets priced at US$200,000 using the Scaled Composites White Knight Two. The spacecraft, SpaceShipTwo, is manufactured by The Spaceship Company, which was founded by Branson and Rutan and is now solely owned by Virgin Galactic. In 2013, Branson said that he planned to take his two children, 31-year-old Holly and 28-year-old Sam, on a trip to outer space when they ride the SpaceShipTwo rocket plane on its first public flight, then planned for 2014. As part of his promotion of the firm, Branson has added a variation of the Virgin Galactic livery to his personal business jet, the Dassault Falcon 900EX "Galactic Girl" (G-GALX).

He was ninth in The Sunday Times Rich List 2006 of the wealthiest people or families in the UK, worth slightly more than £3 billion. Branson wrote in his autobiography of the decision to start an airline.

My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them ... from the perspective of wanting to live life to the full, I felt that I had to attempt it.

In 2006, the airline was merged with SN Brussels Airlines forming Brussels Airlines. It also started a national airline based in Nigeria, called Virgin Nigeria, which ceased operations in 2009. Another airline, Virgin America, began flying out of San Francisco International Airport in August 2007.

Branson's next venture with the Virgin group was Virgin Fuels, which was set up to respond to global warming and exploit the recent spike in fuel costs by offering a revolutionary, cheaper fuel for automobiles and, in the near future, aircraft. Branson has stated that he was formerly a global warming sceptic and was influenced in his decision by a breakfast meeting with Al Gore.

On 21 September 2006, Branson pledged to invest the profits of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains in research for environmentally-friendly fuels. The investment is estimated to be worth $3 billion.

On 4 July 2006, Branson sold his Virgin Mobile company to UK cable TV, broadband, and telephone company NTL/ NTL:Telewest for almost £1 billion. A new company was launched with much fanfare and publicity on 8 February 2007, under the name Virgin Media. The decision to merge his Virgin Media Company with NTL was to integrate both of the companies' compatible parts of commerce. Branson used to own three-quarters of Virgin Mobile, whereas now he owns 15 percent of the new Virgin Media company.

In 2006, Branson formed Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation, an entertainment company focused on creating new stories and characters for a global audience. The company was founded with author Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, and entrepreneurs Sharad Devarajan and Gotham Chopra. Branson also launched the Virgin Health Bank on 1 February 2007, offering parents-to-be the opportunity to store their baby's umbilical cord blood stem cells in private and public stem-cell banks. In June 2006, a tip-off from Virgin Atlantic led both UK and US competition authorities to investigate price-fixing attempts between Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. In August 2007, British Airways was fined £271 million over the allegations. Virgin Atlantic was given immunity for tipping off the authorities and received no fine-a controversial decision the Office of Fair Trading defended as being in the public interest.

On 9 February 2007, Branson announced the setting up of a new global science and technology prize-The Virgin Earth Challenge-in the belief that history has shown that prizes of this nature encourage technological advancements for the good of mankind. The Virgin Earth Challenge was to award $25 million to the individual or group who are able to demonstrate a commercially viable design that will result in the net removal of anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gases each year for at least ten years without countervailing harmful effects. This removal must have long-term effects and contribute materially to the stability of the Earth's climate. Branson also announced that he would be joined in the adjudication of the prize by a panel of five judges, all world authorities in their respective fields: Al Gore, Sir Crispin Tickell, Tim Flannery, James E. Hansen, and James Lovelock.

In July 2007, Branson purchased his Australian home, Makepeace Island, in Noosa. In August 2007, Branson announced that he bought a 20-percent stake in Malaysia's AirAsia X.

On 13 October 2007, Branson's Virgin Group sought to add Northern Rock to its empire after submitting an offer that would result in Branson personally owning 30% of the company and changing the company's name from Northern Rock to Virgin Money. The ran a campaign against his bid; Vince Cable, financial spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, suggested in the House of Commons that Branson's criminal conviction for tax evasion might be felt by some as a good enough reason not to trust him with public money.

In February 2009, Branson's Virgin organisation was reported as bidding to buy the former Honda Formula One team. Branson later stated an interest in Formula One, but claimed that, before the Virgin brand became involved with Honda or any other team, Formula One would have to develop a more economically efficient and environmentally responsible image. At the start of the 2009 Formula One season on 28 March, it was announced that Virgin would be sponsoring the new Brawn GP team, with discussions also under way about introducing a less "dirty" fuel in the medium term. After the end of the season and the subsequent purchase of Brawn GP by Mercedes Benz, Branson invested in an 80% buyout of Manor Grand Prix, with the team being renamed Virgin Racing.

Branson and Tony Fernandes, owner of Air Asia and Lotus F1 Racing, had a bet for the 2010 F1 season where the losing team's boss should work on the winner's airline during a charity flight dressed as a stewardess. Fernandes escaped as the winner of the bet, as Lotus Racing ended tenth in the championship, while Virgin Racing ended twelfth and last. Branson kept his word after losing the bet, as he served his duty as a stewardess on an Air Asia flight between Perth and Kuala Lumpur on 12 May 2013.

In April 2012, Virgin Care commenced a five-year contract for provision of a range of health services which had previously been under the aegis of NHS Surrey, the local primary care trust. By March 2015, Virgin Care was in charge of over 230 services nationwide.

In July 2012, Branson announced plans to build an orbital space launch system, designated LauncherOne. Four commercial customers have already contracted for launches and two companies are developing standardised satellite buses optimised to the design of LauncherOne, in expectation of business opportunities created by the new smallsat launcher.

In 2014, Branson launched the "Foodpreneur" food and drink-focused start-up competition. Winners were provided with mentorship from Branson, legal support, and brand counseling. The 2014 winners included Proper Beans, Killer Tomato, Sweetpea Pantry and Sweet Virtues. In 2015, the competition expanded to the Virgin StartUp's Foodpreneur Festival. The 2015 winners were given the opportunity to pitch Target Corporation buyers. The 2015 winners included Pip & Nut, Double Dutch Drinks, Harry Bromptons, Cauli Rice and Mallow and Marsh.

In November 2015, Branson announced the addition of Moskito Island to the Virgin Limited Edition portfolio. This resort, The Branson Estate on Moskito Island, offers 11 bedrooms for 22 guests.

In 2017, Virgin Group invested in Hyperloop One, developing a strategic partnership between the two. Branson joined the board of directors, and in December 2017, became its chairman. The announced winner of the 2017 Virgin StartUp's Foodpreneur prize was The Snaffling Pig Co., which won a six-week rental space at Intu Lakeside, the retail center with the highest foot traffic in the United Kingdom.

In October 2017, Branson appeared on the Season 9 Premiere of as a guest investor, where he invested in Locker Board, a sustainable line of skateboards invented by 11-year-old, Carson Kropfl. Branson told the young business man that he reminded him of himself. Branson became the richest Shark to have appeared on the show.

In April 2018, Branson announced the acquisition of the Las Vegas based Hard Rock Casino-Hotel with plans to re-brand the property under his Virgin Hotels business.

In May 2018, it was announced that he would become a partner in a private equity fund that will be co-managed by Metric Capital. The fund will seek out consumer goods firms to invest in.

In September 2018, Branson took part in his fourth Virgin Strive Challenge, where he and a core team travelled more than 2,000 km from Cagliari in Sardinia to the summit of Mont Blanc entirely under human and sail power. It was a gruelling month-long challenge where they hiked, biked and kayaked across Europe and had a near-miss on Mont Blanc when a rockfall rained down on them as they crossed the perilous Gouter Couloir. They raised more than £1m for Holly and Sam Branson's charity Big Change, which supports young people.

In February 2019, Branson helped organise an international benefit concert, Venezuela Aid Live, to bring worldwide attention to the humanitarian crisis and raise funds for humanitarian aid. The concert took place on 22 February in Cúcuta, Colombia, on the Venezuelan border.

Branson has been involved in a number of failed business ventures, such as Virgin Cola, Virgin Cars, Virgin Publishing, Virgin Clothing and Virgin Brides. However, Branson holds an unusually optimistic view of failure. He has written: "I suppose the secret to bouncing back is not only to be unafraid of failures but to use them as motivational and learning tools. ... There's nothing wrong with making mistakes as long as you don't make the same ones over and over again."

Branson made several world record-breaking attempts after 1985, when in the spirit of the Blue Riband he attempted the fastest Atlantic Ocean crossing. His first attempt in the "Virgin Atlantic Challenger" led to the boat capsizing in British waters and a rescue by RAF helicopter, which received wide media coverage. Some newspapers called for Branson to reimburse the government for the rescue cost. In 1986, in his "Virgin Atlantic Challenger II", with sailing expert Daniel McCarthy, he beat the record by two hours. A year later his hot air balloon "Virgin Atlantic Flyer" crossed the Atlantic.

In January 1991, Branson crossed the Pacific from Japan to Arctic Canada, 6,700 miles (10,800 km), in a balloon of 2,600,000 cubic feet (74,000 m ³). This broke the record, with a speed of 145 miles per hour (233 km/h).

Between 1995 and 1998, Branson, Per Lindstrand, Vladimir Dzhanibekov, Larry Newman, and Steve Fossett made attempts to circumnavigate the globe by balloon. In late 1998, they made a record-breaking flight from Morocco to Hawaii but were unable to complete a global flight before Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones in Breitling Orbiter 3 in March 1999.

In March 2004, Branson set a record by travelling from Dover to Calais in a Gibbs Aquada in 1 hour, 40 minutes and 6 seconds, the fastest crossing of the English Channel in an amphibious vehicle. The previous record of six hours was set by two Frenchmen. The cast of , Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, attempted to break this record in an amphibious vehicle which they had constructed and, while successfully crossing the channel, did not break Branson's record. After being intercepted by the Coast Guard and asked what their intentions were, Clarkson remarked "..our intentions are to go across the Channel faster than 'Beardy' Branson!". The Coast Guard wished them 'Good luck and Bon Voyage'.

In September 2008, Branson and his children made an unsuccessful attempt at an eastbound record crossing of the Atlantic Ocean under sail in the 99-foot (30 m) sloop Virgin Money. The boat, also known as Speedboat, is owned by NYYC member Alex Jackson, who was a co-skipper on this passage, with Branson and Mike Sanderson. After two days, four hours, winds of force 7 to 9 (strong gale), and seas of 40 feet (12 m), a 'monster wave' destroyed the spinnaker, washed a ten-man life raft overboard and severely ripped the mainsail. The sloop eventually continued to St. George's, Bermuda.

Television, film and print

Branson has guest starred, usually playing himself, on several television shows, including , , Birds of a Feather, Only Fools and Horses, The Day Today, a special episode of the comedy Goodness Gracious Me and Tripping Over. Branson made several appearances during the 1990s on the BBC Saturday morning show Live & Kicking, where he was referred to as 'the pickle man' by comedy act Trev and Simon (in reference to Branston Pickle).

Branson also appears in a cameo early in XTC's "Generals and Majors" video. He was also the star of a reality television show on Fox called The Rebel Billionaire: Branson's Quest for the Best (2004), in which sixteen contestants were tested for their entrepreneurship and sense of adventure and only lasted one season.

His high public profile often leaves him open as a figure of satire-the 2000 AD series features a parody of Branson as a super villain, as the comic's publisher and favoured distributor and the Virgin group were in competition at the time. He is also caricatured in The Simpsons episode " Monty Can't Buy Me Love" as the tycoon Arthur Fortune, as the ballooning megalomaniac Richard Chutney (a pun on Branson, as in Branston Pickle) in Believe Nothing, and voiced himself in " The Princess Guide". The character Grandson Richard 39 in Terry Pratchett's Wings is modelled on Branson.

He has a cameo appearance in several films: Around the World in 80 Days (2004), where he played a hot-air balloon operator, and Superman Returns (2006), where he was credited as a 'Shuttle Engineer' and appeared alongside his son, Sam, with a Virgin Galactic-style commercial suborbital shuttle at the centre of his storyline. He also has a cameo in the James Bond film Casino Royale (2006). Here, he is seen as a passenger going through Miami Airport security check-in and being frisked - several Virgin Atlantic planes appear soon after. British Airways edited out Branson's cameo in their in-flight screening of the movie. He makes a number of brief and disjointed appearances in the documentary Derek and Clive Get the Horn (1979), which follows the exploits of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore recording their final comedy album. Branson and his mother were also featured in the documentary film Lemonade Stories. On the TV series in early 2006, Rove McManus and Sir Richard pushed each other into a swimming pool fully clothed live on TV during a "Live at your house" episode.

Branson is a fan and named his new spaceship VSS Enterprise in honour of the Star Trek spaceships, and in 2006, reportedly offered actor William Shatner a ride on the inaugural space launch of Virgin Galactic. In an interview in magazine, published on 10 August 2009, Shatner claimed that Branson approached him asking how much he would pay for a ride on the spaceship. In response, Shatner asked "how much would you pay me to do it?"

In August 2007, Branson announced on The Colbert Report that he had named a new aircraft Air Colbert. He later doused political satirist and talk show host Stephen Colbert with water from his mug. Branson subsequently took a retaliatory splash from Colbert. The interview quickly ended, with both laughing as shown on the episode aired on Comedy Central on 22 August 2007. The interview was promoted on The Report as the Colbert-Branson Interview Trainwreck. Branson then made a cameo appearance in , playing an intern working under Joel McHale who had been warned against getting into water fights with Stephen Colbert, and being subsequently fired.

In March 2008, he launched Virgin Mobile in India; during that period, he made a cameo appearance in Bollywood film London Dreams. In July 2010, Branson narrated Australian sailor Jessica Watson's documentary about her solo sailing trip around the world.

In April 2011, Branson appeared on CNN's Mainsail with Kate Winslet. Together they re-enacted a famous scene from the 1997 film for the cameras.[better source needed ] On 17 August 2011, he was featured in the premier episode of Hulu's first long-form original production entitled, A Day in the Life.

At the 2012 Pride of Britain Awards on ITV on 30 October, Branson, along with Michael Caine, Elton John, Simon Cowell and Stephen Fry, recited Rudyard Kipling's poem " If-" in tribute to the 2012 British Olympic and Paralympics athletes.

In 1998, Branson released his autobiography, titled Losing My Virginity, an international best-seller. Branson was deeply saddened by the disappearance of fellow adventurer Steve Fossett in September 2007; the following month he wrote an article for Time magazine, titled "My Friend, Steve Fossett".

In the late 1990s, Branson and musician Peter Gabriel discussed with Nelson Mandela their idea of a small group of leaders working to solve difficult global conflicts. On 18 July 2007, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Mandela announced the formation of a new group, The Elders. Kofi Annan served as Chair of The Elders and Gro Harlem Brundtland as Deputy Chair. The Elders is funded by a group of donors, including Branson and Gabriel.

Through the Carbon War Room, founded in 2009, the entrepreneur sought solutions for global warming and the energy crisis. "We all have a part to play, but I believe entrepreneurs will have a really significant role to play in bringing investment and commercial skills to help develop the new technologies needed to grow a post-carbon economy", he said in his interview with . Through Carbon War Room initiative he has focused efforts on finding sustainable alternatives for three industry sectors: shipping, energy efficiency and aviation and renewable jet fuels.

He also launched Virgin Startup, an official delivery partner for the UK's Start Up Loans programme. Through this new organisation, he was to provide loans to entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 30 UK-wide. A pilot of the scheme, which ran over 11 months, injected £600,000 into 100 businesses.

Branson's other work in South Africa includes the Branson School of Entrepreneurship, set up in 2005 as a partnership between Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of Virgin, and entrepreneur Taddy Blecher, the founder of CIDA City Campus, a university in Johannesburg. The school aims to improve economic growth in South Africa by supporting start-ups and micro-enterprises with skills, mentors, services, networks and finance arrangements. Fundraising activity to support the school is achieved by The Sunday Times Fast Track 100, sponsored by Virgin Group, at its yearly event, where places to join Richard Branson on trips to South Africa to provide coaching and mentoring to students are auctioned to attendees. In 2009, Jason Luckhurst and Boyd Kershaw of Practicus, Martin Ainscough of the Ainscough Group and Matthew Riley of Daisy Communications helped raise £150,000 through the auction.

In March 2008, Branson hosted an environmental gathering at his private island, Necker Island, in the Caribbean with several prominent entrepreneurs, celebrities, and world leaders. They discussed global warming-related problems facing the world, hoping that the meeting would be a precursor to future discussions regarding similar problems. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, and Larry Page of Google were in attendance.

On 8 May 2009, Branson took over Mia Farrow's hunger strike for three days in protest of the Sudanese government expulsion of aid groups from the Darfur region. In 2010, he and the Nduna Foundation (founded by Amy Robbins), and Humanity United (an organization backed by Pam Omidyar, the wife of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar) founded Enterprise Zimbabwe.

Branson is a signatory of Global Zero campaign, a non-profit international initiative for the elimination of all nuclear weapons worldwide. Since its launch in Paris in December 2008, Global Zero has grown to 300 leaders, including current and former heads of state, national security officials and military commanders, and 400,000 citizens worldwide; developed a practical step-by-step plan to eliminate nuclear weapons; launched an international student campaign with 75 campus chapters in eight countries; and produced a documentary film, Countdown to Zero, in partnership with Lawrence Bender and Participant Media.

Since 2010, Branson has served as a Commissioner on the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, a UN initiative which promotes universal access to broadband services. In 2011, Branson served on the Global Commission on Drug Policy with former political and cultural leaders of Latin America and elsewhere, "in a bid to boost the effort to achieve more humane and rational drug laws."

Branson is an opponent of the death penalty, stating: "the death penalty is always cruel, barbaric and inhumane. It has no place in the world." The U.S. is one of the few countries that practiced the death penalty in 2015, and on 30 September 2015, Branson released a letter in support of American inmate Richard Glossip on the day he was due to be executed, buying an ad in The Oklahoman newspaper which had advocated the execution. Branson stated the evidence against Glossip was flawed and that "every person is deserving of a fair trial", adding: "Your state is about to execute a man whose guilt has not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt."

In October 2018, Branson spoke out for Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist allegedly killed by Saudi authorities in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey by suspending his advisory role from Saudi Arabia's biggest Red Sea tourism project. He issued a statement saying, "The disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, if proved true, would clearly change the ability of any of us in the West to do business with the Saudi Government."

In 2006, Branson made a high-profile pledge to invest $3 billion toward addressing global warming over the course of the following decade. However, author and activist Naomi Klein has criticised Branson for contributing "well under $300 million" as of 2014, far below the originally stated goal. Additionally, Klein says Virgin airlines' greenhouse gas emissions increased considerably in the years following his pledge.

In the 1980s, Branson was briefly given the post of "litter Tsar" by Margaret Thatcher-charged with "keeping Britain tidy". In 2005, he declared that there were only negligible differences between the two main parties on economic matters. He was suggested as a candidate for Mayor of London before the first 2000 election, with polls indicating he would be a viable candidate, but he did not express interest.

Branson has supported continuing British membership of the European Union and was opposed to the 2016 referendum. On 28 June 2016, interviewed for ITV's Good Morning Britain, he said that his company had lost a third of its value as a result of the referendum result and that a planned venture, employing over 3,000 people, which he had announced before the referendum, had been shelved. He gave his backing for a second referendum. Branson endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the run-up for the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Branson reportedly donated £25,000 in 2017, in addition to providing office space and support staff to legal challenges against the UK government's Brexit process in a legal campaign spearheaded by Gina Miller.[citation needed ]

In 1993, Branson was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Technology from Loughborough University.

In the New Years Honours list dated 30 December 1999, Elizabeth II signified her intention to confer the honour of Knight Bachelor on him for his "services to entrepreneurship".

He was knighted by Charles, Prince of Wales on 30 March 2000 at an investiture in Buckingham Palace.

Also in 2000, Branson received the Tony Jannus Award for his accomplishments in commercial air transportation.

In 2000, Branson was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame at the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

Branson appears at No. 85 on the 2002 list of 100 Greatest Britons on the BBC and voted for by the public. Branson was also ranked in 2007's Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in The World. On 7 December 2007, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon presented Branson with the United Nations Correspondents Association Citizen of the World Award for his support for environmental and humanitarian causes.

On 24 January 2011, Branson was awarded the German Media Prize (organised by "Media Control Charts"), previously handed to former US president Bill Clinton and the Dalai Lama.

On 14 November 2011, Branson was awarded the ISTA Prize by the International Space Transport Association in The Hague for his pioneering achievements in the development of suborbital transport systems with "Virgin Galactic".

On 11 February 2012, Branson was honoured with the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences' President's Merit Award for his contributions to the music industry.

On 2 June 2013, Branson received an honorary degree of Doctor Honoris Causa from Kaunas Technology University in Kaunas, Lithuania.

On 15 May 2014, Branson received the 2014 Business for Peace Award, awarded annually by the Business for Peace Foundation in Oslo, Norway.

On 21 September 2014, Branson was recognized by The Sunday Times as the most admired business person over the last five decades.

On 9 October 2014, Branson was named as the No. 1 LGBT ally by the OUTstanding organisation.

On 29 October 2015, Branson was listed by UK-based company Richtopia at number 1 in the list of 100 Most Influential British Entrepreneurs.

In October 2015, Branson received the International Crisis Group Chairman's Award at the United Nations Development Programme's in Pursuit of Peace Awards Dinner.

In 1971, Branson was convicted and briefly jailed for tax evasion, having fraudulently obtained export documents for records to be sold on the domestic market to avoid paying Purchase Tax. Customs officials caught onto the scheme and executed a sting operation, marking records bought for the international market with invisible ink and subsequently buying them on the domestic market. Branson was advised of the sting by an anonymous tip-off and attempted to dispose of the evidence, but this was unsuccessful.

Branson's business empire is owned by a complicated series of offshore trusts and companies. The Sunday Times stated that his wealth is calculated at £3 billion; if he were to retire to his Caribbean island and liquidate all of this, he would pay relatively little in tax. Branson has been criticised for his business strategy, and has been accused of being a carpetbagger. Branson responded that he is living on Necker for health rather than tax reasons.

In 2013, Branson described himself as a "tax exile", having saved millions in tax by ending his mainland British residency and living in the British Virgin Islands. This was echoed by Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Labour's John McDonnell, in 2016, amid calls for his knighthood to be revoked.

In November 2017, singer Antonia Jenae, a backing singer for Joss Stone, claimed Branson sexually assaulted her at Necker Island by "putting his head between her cleavage and making boat engine noises." A spokesperson for Branson confirmed to newspaper that members of the band had been invited for a party on the island in 2010, but that he and friends and family in attendance had "no recollection" of the events and that "there would never have been any intention to offend or make anyone feel uncomfortable. Richard apologises if anyone felt that way."

Branson married Kristen Tomassi in 1972 and divorced her in 1979. He has a daughter Holly (b. 1981) and a son Sam (b. 1985) with his second wife, Joan Templeman, whom he met in 1976. He stated in an interview with Piers Morgan that he and Joan also had a daughter named Clare Sarah, who died when she was four days old in 1979. They were married in 1989 on Necker Island.[citation needed ]

Branson is also an experienced kitesurfer, holding some world records in the sport. In August 2016, Branson was injured while riding his bicycle in the British Virgin Islands and suffered torn ligaments and a cracked cheek as a result. He was taken to hospital in Miami for X-rays and scans.

In 2017, Branson's Necker Island home was left uninhabitable after Hurricane Irma hit. It was the second time the Necker Island home had been severely damaged after the building caught fire when it was struck by lightning caused by Hurricane Irene in 2011.

Branson has stated in a number of interviews that he has been much influenced by non-fiction books. He most commonly mentions Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, explaining that Mandela was "one of the most inspiring men I have ever met and had the honour to call my friend." Owing to his interest in humanitarian and ecological issues, Branson also lists Al Gore's best-selling book, An Inconvenient Truth, and The Revenge of Gaia by James Lovelock amongst his favourites. According to Branson's book, Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons in Life, he is also a fan of Jung Chang's and Antony Beevor's Stalingrad. In fiction, Branson has long admired the character Peter Pan, and in 2006, he founded Virgin Comics LLC, stating that Virgin Comics will give "a whole generation of young, creative thinkers a voice".

Also published as: The Virgin Way: If It's Not Fun, It's Not Worth Doing and The Virgin Way: Everything I Know About Leadership

1. (subscription or ^ "BRANSON, Sir Richard (Charles Nicholas)". . ukwhoswho.com. 2014 (online Oxford University Press ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. UK public library membership required) (subscription required)

2. ^ "Famous birthdays for July 18: Vin Diesel, Kristen Bell". United Press International. 18 July 2019. Archived from the original on 19 July 2019. Businessman Richard Branson in 1950 (age 69)

3. ^ Barling, Julian. The SAGE Handbook of Organizational Behavior: Volume Two: Macro Approaches. SAGE. p. 383.

4. [1] Archived 15 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine Finding Your Roots, 2 February 2016, PBS

5. ^ Richard Branson. "At school I was dyslexic and a dunce.", The Times, London, 11 September 1998, pg. 19

6. ^ Shavinina, Larisa V (December 2006). "Micro-social factors in the development of entrepreneurial giftedness: the case of Richard Branson". High Ability Studies. 17 (2).

7. ^ Branson, Richard (2014). The Virgin Way: Everything I know about leadership. New York: Portfolio/Penguin.

8. ^ Klotz, Irene (11 November 2013). "Profile : Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Galactic". Space News.

9. ^ Zuckermann, Ghil'ad (2003), Language Contact and Lexical Enrichment in Israeli Hebrew. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9781403917232 / ISBN 9781403938695 [2] Archived 12 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine: "Richard Branson prefers jumpers to suits".

10. ^ Alexander, Jeremy (4 October 2017). "Portable Skateboard for Your Locker on Shark Tank - Locker Board".

11. ^ "Shark Tank: Net Worth of All Sharks on the Show Till Date". Tell Me Nothing. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017.

12. Bower, Tom (12 February 2017). "Virgin's Robinson Crusoe is desperate to be adored". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 12 February 2017.(subscription required)

13. ^ Roberts, Rich (23 January 1991). "Floating into a Nightmare : Two Barely Survive 6,700-Mile Flight Across Pacific in 220-Foot Balloon". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 7 October 2019.

14. ^ "Thinking Green While Sifting Through the Sand" Archived 27 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine The New York Times article published 22 March 2008

15. ^ "Group Offers Plan to Eliminate Nukes by 2030" (PDF). The New York Times. 29 June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2011.

16. Stadlen, Matthew. ^ "An EU vote? ridiculous" Archived 23 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine. The Telegraph. 26 October 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.

17. ^ Official announcement knighthood Archived 22 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. The London Gazette. 30 December 1999.

18. Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor. ^ These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006. ISBN 978-1-57864-397-4.

19. ^ Times, The Sunday (12 May 2019). "The Sunday Times Rich List 2019: Sir Richard Branson net worth". ISSN 0140-0460.

20. ^ Fenwick, Jack (28 August 2016). "'Tax exile' Richard Branson facing calls for his knighthood to be scrapped". Archived from the original on 5 February 2018.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British business magnate, investor, author and philanthropist. He founded the Virgin Group in the 1970s, which controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneur at a young age.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Spaceship Company ( TSC) is a British/American spacecraft manufacturing company that was founded by Burt Rutan and Richard Branson in mid-2005 and was jointly owned by Virgin Group (70%) and Scaled Composites (30%) until 2012 when Virgin Galactic became the sole owner. TSC was formed to own the technology created by Scaled for Virgin Galactic's Virgin SpaceShip program. This includes developments on the care-free reentry system and cantilevered-hybrid rocket motor, licensed from Paul Allen and Burt Rutan's Mojave Aerospace. The company is manufacturing Virgin Galactic's spacecraft and will sell spacecraft to other buyers. The suborbital launch system offered will include the SpaceShipTwo spacecraft and the White Knight Two carrier aircraft.

The company was founded in 2005 by Burt Rutan and Richard Branson, and was initially jointly owned by Virgin Group and Scaled Composites, to own the technology created by Scaled for Virgin Galactic's Virgin SpaceShip program. Virgin Galactic was announced to be the launch customer for the SpaceShipTwo and WhiteKnightTwo vehicles. Virgin placed an initial order for five SpaceShipTwos and two WhiteKnightTwos, with "exclusive use of the systems for the initial 18 months of commercial passenger operations."

By late 2010, the company had announced plans to build three WhiteKnightTwo aircraft and five SpaceShipTwo rocket planes.

2011-present

Since the first WK2 and the first SS2 were built by Scaled Composites, TSC has responsibility for the manufacture of the second WK2 aircraft and the second SS2 spacecraft for Virgin Galactic, as well as additional production craft as other customers for the vehicles emerge.

Virgin Galactic acquired 100% ownership of TSC in 2012, by acquiring the 30% stake still owned by Scaled Composites, which itself had been acquired by Northrop Grumman.

The company had grown to 70 persons by July 2011, 145 by June 2013, 250 by July 2014, and 430 by July 2018.

In June 2013, Doug Shane joined TSC to become executive VP and general manager, ending a 31-year career with Scaled Composites, including five as president. In July 2014, Shane was named president of the company.

In 2016, it was announced that TSC, Virgin Galactic, and the Virgin Group, would be collaborating with Boom Technology to develop a supersonic trans-oceanic passenger jetliner. By February 2018, The Spaceship Company was "duplicating and testing prototypes of an original design of SpaceShipTwo" with the goal of sending a model into space in 2019. It is building models for Virgin Galactic.

In March 2010, following the construction of the initial prototypes of WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo by Scaled Composites, The Spaceship Company stated in 2010 that it was moving the aircraft and spacecraft into commercial production.

By July 2014, TSC was halfway complete with the build of the second SpaceShipTwo- VSS Unity-and is 65 percent complete as of early November 2014. Virgin Galactic rolled out VSS Unity on 19 February 2016. A release by TSC on the company Twitter account in May 2018 showed two more spacecraft, after VSS Unity, under construction.

As of mid-2014, a second WhiteKnightTwo was also under construction.

TSC is collaborating with Boom Technology to create a new supersonic transport. The initial 1/3-size prototype would be the XB-1 "Baby Boom" Supersonic Demonstrator.

In November 2010, TSC broke ground on a new 68,000-square-foot (6,300 m ²) aircraft assembly plant at Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, California. The manufacturing facility was expected to employ "up to 170 people when production is in full swing."

In July 2011, TSC announced it would begin production of "the first sections for a second WhiteKnightTwo (WK2) carrier aircraft along with the first of multiple SpaceShipTwo (SS2) suborbital vehicles for Virgin Galactic and, ultimately, other customers" in the "Final Assembly, Integration and Test Hangar" (FAITH) in the fall of 2011.

In September, 2011, TSC completed construction of the new plant, on schedule, for US$8,000,000. The production of the new spacecraft-initially three WhiteKnightTwo aircraft and five of the smaller SpaceShipTwo rocket planes-was also planned to commence before the end of that month.[citation needed ]

The FAITH hangar is intended to be used for building the one-piece composite spars and wing for WK2, fuselage lay-up for both WK2 and SS2, and "will also be used for major maintenance and will serve as the company's operating headquarters."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Spaceship Company ( TSC) is a British/American spacecraft manufacturing company that was founded by Burt Rutan and Richard Branson in mid-2005 and was jointly owned by Virgin Group (70%) and Scaled Composites (30%) until 2012 when Virgin Galactic became the sole owner.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Create a new document and edit with others at the same time -- from your computer, phone or tablet. Get stuff done with or without an internet connection. Use Docs to edit Word files. Free from Google.