Tag: Virgin Galactic
Tech Digest daily roundup: WhatsApp fined €225m for breach
WhatsApp has been fined €225m (£193m) by Ireland's data watchdog for breaching privacy regulations. It is the largest fine ever from the Irish Data Protection Commission, and the second-highest under EU GDPR rules. Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, has its EU headquarters is in Ireland, and the Irish regulator is the lead authority for the tech…
Tech Digest daily roundup: Sir Richard Branson sells $300 million stake in Virgin Galactic
British billionaire Sir Richard Branson has sold around $300m (£216.8m) of Virgin Galactic stock, leveraging his biggest listed asset to prop up other parts of his business empire. The 71-year-old offloaded almost 10.5m shares, equivalent to around 4pc of the space-travel company, through his Virgin Investments Group. This is the third sale Sir Branson has…
Sir Richard Branson becomes first billionaire in space
Sir Richard Branson has reached space, according to his company, Virgin Galactic. After releasing from the mothership - at approximately 4.25pm UK time - the VSS Unity spaceplane quickly reached its maximum altitude at 55 miles (88km) which is below the Karman Line, internationally recognised as the edge of space. The British billionaire took the…
Tech Digest daily round up: Pollution-eating car shown at Goodwood
A car that has been designed to strip the air of pollution as it drives along has been shown off at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Created by British designer Thomas Heatherwick, it is hoped the Airo will go into production in China in 2023, with plans to make a million of them. The radical…
Tech Digest daily round up: Branson goes into space before Bezos
Billionaire Sir Richard Branson has announced his plan to reach space nine days before Amazon boss Jeff Bezos by taking part in a test flight for his company Virgin Galactic. In a video posted on Twitter, the Virgin Group founder introduced himself as "Astronaut 001" and said he will be "evaluating the customer space flight…
Virgin Galactic confirms VSS Unity test flights
Virgin Galactic has confirmed that the next rocket-powered test flight of SpaceShipTwo Unity will be conducted on May 22, pending weather and technical checks. This follows the completion of a maintenance review of VMS Eve, the mothership jet aircraft which is designed to carry SpaceShipTwo to an altitude of approximately 50,000 feet. “Following a detailed…
Tech Digest daily round up: Apple in court over commission fees
Millions of Apple's UK customers should be compensated for breaches of competition law, a legal action claims. The case, filed with the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), alleges Apple's 30% commission on app sales is an abuse of dominance and unlawful. Organisers are aiming to include nearly 20 million UK users in the collective action,…
Virgin Galactic unveils mirrored space craft, VSS Imagine
Virgin Galactic has unveiled its third-generation spacecraft, the VSS Imagine. Finished in an entirely mirror-like material, the craft is designed to reflect the surrounding environment, allowing it to change colour and appearance as it travels from Earth to space. Virgin Galactic said the third generation of spaceships was “built to enable improved performance in terms…
Virgin Galactic reaches ‘weight on wheels’ milestone
Virgin Galactic has announced a major milestone in the build of its next spaceship. In a moment comparable to a ship taking to the water for the first time, the latest spaceship is now bearing its own weight in a stage of its assembly termed 'Weight on Wheels'. At this critical juncture, 80% of the…
Over 1 in 3 Brits think humans will live in space
More than a third of Britons believe humans will inevitably have to live in space due to the Earth becoming increasingly uninhabitable. While the public sector dominated space exploration in the 20th century, the space race this century has been revolutionised by the private sector. And it seems increasingly likely that people will look to…