Sir. Richard Branson is taking cosmologist and physicist Stephen Hawking to space on board Virgin Galactic.
Prof. Stephen Hawking
The world renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has announced that he has accepted the offer to travel into space on board Richard Branson’s spaceship.
The Professor has told Good Morning Britain that it was a dream come true, having never dreamed of the possibility. “Richard Branson has offered me a seat on Virgin Galactic, and I said yes immediately”, he said.
Virgin Galactic, Branson’s brainchild, is a commercial spaceflight company within Virgin Group. They hope to be sending people on commercial tours to space by the year 2019.
It is still not clear how Branson would ensure the safety of the 75-year-old who is disabled by ALS. Hawking was diagnosed with the illness in 1963, when he was 21. At the time he was given a life expectancy of
SpaceShipTwo
two years, but has lived a life full of accomplishments.
His space journey will most likely be on board of Virgin Galactic’s two-part spacecraft. One part, WhiteKnightTwo, will carry the second part, SpaceShipTwo, to an altitude of around 50,000 feet, and that’s when SpaceShipTwo detaches and thrusts out of the atmosphere.
Once at the edge of space, the pilot will shut off the engine, leaving the passengers floating through zero gravity in complete silence.
On the way back, SpaceShipTwo will use its wings to glide back into the atmosphere and make a safe and smooth landing at Virgin’s facilities.
