Richard Branson

Richard Branson is a British entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group of businesses. He has launched two enterprises in the space industry – namely Virgin Orbit and Virgin Galactic.

Virgin Galactic was founded in USA and its primary activity is to become one of key players in the space tourism business, although it is now several years in the making and is yet to send a commercial, fee-paying tourist into space.

There were 600 tickets sold back in 2014 to take space tourists on board the Virgin Galactic space planes, but a fatal accident put that on hold. However, Branson himself recently went suborbital onboard one of his spacecraft and it was a successful flight with all passengers returning safely.

Virgin Orbit is an offshoot from the Virgin Galactic enterprise that aims to send satellites into orbit from a rocket attached to the wing of a modified Boeing 747. Whilst Virgin Orbit does have a presence in USA, its first launch is likely to take place from its base at Spaceport Cornwall on the South West coast of England.