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Virgin Galactic
The latest news, analysis and opinion on Virgin Galactic. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.
Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity takes flight in May 2018. Photo: AFP
Tourism

Got US$600,000? Virgin Galactic looks for space tourists in Asia

Virgin Galactic is now discreetly soliciting interest in Asia for its space tourism flights, which will restart on new spaceships in 2026

Tourism

Is the ‘travel designer’ the new hero of luxury travel?

Icons and Influencers

Meet ‘beautiful astronaut’ and TikTok star, Kellie Gerardi

Asia travel

Move over, SpaceX: start-up plans tours to near-space by balloon

A Japanese start-up is promising stunning views of Earth from above for people willing to pay US$164,000 – but rather than board a space shuttle or plane, passengers will be in a cabin held up by a helium balloon.

A helium balloon takes off from a test site in the Tokachi region of Hokkaido on July 23, 2023. Photo: Iwaya Inc
Space

Virgin Galactic flies its first tourists to the edge of space

The passengers, who got to experience a few minutes of weightlessness, included ex-UK Olympian Jon Goodwin and a mother-daughter duo from the Caribbean.

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Aviation

Tokyo to New York in 1 hour? Hypersonic ‘Stargazer’ jet aims to best Concorde

Being developed to fly at nine times the speed of sound, Venus Aerospace’s planned jet will be equipped with rocket engines to climb to an altitude of 52,000 metres – more than four times as high as traditional jetliners.

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SpaceX

European telescope launched to hunt for clues to universe’s darkest secrets

SpaceX launched the European Space Agency’s Euclid observatory at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Saturday towards its destination 1.5 million km away, the Webb Space Telescope’s neighbourhood.

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The European Space Agency’s Euclid Telescope mission lifts off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE
Tourism

Why Bezos, Branson’s risky adventures aren’t what most wealthy tourists want

The likes of Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic and OceanGate have made daring adventures available to the ultra-rich but, unlike Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, most wealthy travellers prefer exclusivity without the risk.

Space

Virgin Galactic takes its first paying customers to space

The Galactic 01 mission took Italian Air Force pilots 85km above sea level, where they enjoyed several minutes of weightlessness.

Art

Space was his escape: now this Hong Kong artist uses it to mock consumerism

Artist Ernest Chang’s Hong Kong show, the result of his obsession with Mars and the notion of escape during the pandemic, explores space and our unhealthy relationship with consumerism.

“The Child of Space” by Ernest Chang, one of the pieces in his solo exhibition “Space Rich”, at The Stallery in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Photo: courtesy of The Stallery
My Take

Editorial | A Marxist guide to investing in the American stock market

The largest holding in my portfolio is the Vanguard total stock market ETF, which roughly mirrors the S&P, so I am really not boasting here.

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Photo: AFP
Tourism

From Messi to Ronaldo, Nadal and BTS’ Jin, celebrities in the tourism trade

Pop stars, actors, sportsmen and TV personalities have lent their star power to restaurants, hotels, vineyards, delis, even airlines.

Science

Breakthrough in China hyperloop project aiming to transport people at 1,000km/h

Passenger pod makes three trips through vacuum tube at Chinese facility as part of project to develop superconducting maglev trains that can travel at 1,000km/h.

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Diversity and inclusion

Opinion | Neurodiverse talent is an untapped resource across the Asia-Pacific

Corporate studies reveal that teams with neurodiverse employees – those with ADHD, dyslexia and other mental ‘disabilities’ – are more creative, productive and innovative.

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K-pop idols such as Jackson Wang of GOT7, who was a competitive fencer before he joined showbusiness, have openly discussed their ADHD, but corporate employees have traditionally hidden their neurodiversity. Photo: @teamjacksonwangg/ Instagram
China's space programme

Next stop: space? Chinese firm aims for suborbital tourist trips by 2025

CAS Space founder says passengers could pay upwards of US$285,000 for a flight to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere.

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A Chinese company aims to have seats on suborbital flights available for commercial passengers by 2025. Photo: Shutterstock
Hong Kong economy

Plunging hotel rates make luxury living a bit more affordable in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is the fourth most expensive city globally for luxury goods and services, a notch lower than last year, as a dearth of tourists crushed hotel room rates, Swiss private bank Julius Baer says.

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Space

Bezos’s Blue Origin flies into space on 5th mission

The flight included engineer Katya Echazarreta, who at 26 became the youngest American woman in space, she was sponsored by a programme that seeks to democratise access to space.

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Formula One (F1)

Max Verstappen’s lavish lifestyle: how the F1 star splashes his US$50 million salary

The 24-year-old Formula One World Champion spends his money on cars, watercrafts, two costly Bengal cats, a SimRacer console … and much more

What does Formula One driver Max Verstappen spend his millions on? Photos: @maxverstappen1 Instagram
SpaceX

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is poised to become the most valuable US start-up

SpaceX has indicated to investors that it may offer new shares in a secondary offering later this year, which could value it more than fintech giant Stripe.

Space

Luxury balloon company sells trips to near space for US$125,000

Get ready to stream your trip to space live on Instagram Stories – balloon company Space Perspective is selling trips in a luxury cabin with Wi-fi and a bar to near space 30 kilometres above the Earth.

SpaceX

First all-private astronaut team welcomed aboard ISS

The arrival came 21 hours after the four-man team representing Houston-based Axiom Space Inc lifted off on Friday from Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre.

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The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off carrying the Crew Dragon spacecraft on a commercial mission managed by Axiom Space, at Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida on April 8. Photo: Getty Images / TNS
SpaceX

SpaceX rocket launches first all-private astronaut team

The four men left Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on a landmark debut flight and orbital science mission; the SpaceX-supplied Crew Dragon capsule is set to dock some 400km above the Earth after a 20-hour flight.

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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon capsule attached, lifts off from the Kennedy Space Centre. Photo: AP
Asia travel

Destinations known | How an Indonesian island will fit 100,000 racing fans with only 23,000 rooms

A scramble to find bed space is going on ahead of the Indonesian Motorcycle Grand Prix in Mandalika, on Lombok island, just one of many bumps in the road the event has encountered.

China's space programme

Outside In | US’ lack of space cooperation with China is one giant leap into danger

Chinese space progress, quite understandably, poses an existential challenge to the US. But with the amount of space traffic and debris orbiting Earth, Washington’s decision to lock Beijing out of a space agreement is a route to future conflict.

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China’s Mars orbiter Tianwen-1 is seen circling above the north polar region of the Red Planet on January 1, 2022. Photo: Xinhua
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