Connect with us

Published

4 years ago

on

The last century’s space race was a competition between the world’s great powers and a test of their ideologies. It would prove to be a synecdoche of the entire Cold War between the capitalist United States and the socialist Soviet Union.

The starting pistol in the race to the future was fired in 1961 when President John F Kennedy committed to “achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth” and it ended with a US victory on 24 July 1969 when the crew of the Apollo 11 mission splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean.

There are no such stakes in today’s race. The values of the future aren’t in question, merely the egos of three billionaires. One of these men is launching his private spacecraft off the planet on Sunday. Another follows suit soon after.

So here’s how they compare and what you need to know:

Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX have all designed their own spacecraft
Image:
Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX have all designed their own spacecraft
How far can the billionaires' rockets go?
Image:
How far can the billionaires’ rockets go?

Sir Richard Branson

  • Age: 70
  • Estimated Net Worth: $5.8bn (£4.2bn)
  • Company: Virgin Galactic
  • Launch date: 11 July

“My mum taught me to never give up and to reach for the stars,” said Sir Richard Branson announcing that he was going to be among the first people his spaceflight company launches on a mission.

Unfortunately, not only will Virgin Galactic’s mission fall short of the stars, the two-and-a-half hour mission will also fall short of space, at least according to the internationally agreed definition.

Sir Richard Branson
Image:
Sir Richard Branson is the billionaire owner of Virgin Galactic

VSS Unity is a spaceplane (perhaps just a plane?) that launches in mid-air from the belly of a carrier aircraft at an altitude of about 15km, and then flies up to an altitude of about 80km, allowing the passengers to feel nearly weightless for approximately six minutes and glimpse the curvature of the Earth.

The problem for Sir Richard is that the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) defines the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space as 100km above Earth’s mean sea level, the so-called Karman Line, 20km higher than he is going to travel.

VSS Unity starts its engines after release from its mothership,
Image:
VSS Unity technically will not actually enter space

The definition of the edge of space is a bit of a challenge. Earth’s atmosphere doesn’t suddenly end but becomes progressively thinner at greater altitudes. In very simple terms, physicist Theodore von Karman’s solution was to define the edge of space as the highest point at which an aircraft could fly without reaching orbital velocity.

While Karman himself and the FAI regards this altitude as 100km, Sir Richard has the US Air Force and NASA on his side. They both place the boundary of space at 80km above mean sea level, partially because putting it at 100km would complicate issues regarding surveillance aircraft and reconnaissance satellites for the US – although the Department of Defence subscribes to the FAI definition.

It’s not clear whether this definition is covered by the small print of Virgin Galactic’s customer tickets, but ultimately the company aims to be operating multiple space tourism flights a year, and already has more than 600 customers for the $250,000 (£189,000) seats – including Justin Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio.

Jeff Bezos. Pic: AP
Image:
Jeff Bezos is the billionaire owner of Blue Origin. Pic: AP

Jeffrey Bezos

  • Age: 67
  • Estimated Net Worth: $198bn (£144bn)
  • Company: Blue Origin
  • Launch date: 20 July

“Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space. On 20 July, I will take that journey with my brother,” said Jeff Bezos, announcing his seat on a journey to the edge of space.

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket is capable of actually making it there, with a maximum achieved altitude of above 100km, but how high it will bring its four passengers hasn’t yet been confirmed.

These passengers will be Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, a mystery customer who paid $28m (£20m) for the seat in an auction, and 82-year-old Mary Wallace “Wally” Funk, a woman who had astronaut training in the 1960s but was denied the chance to go into space because of her gender.

While the mission will be scooped to launch by Virgin Galactic, by inviting Wally Funk it has managed to scoop Branson on getting a famous victim of gender injustice into space – she had previously put money down to fly with Virgin Galactic.

Jeff Bezos and Wally Funk. Pic: Blue Origin/AP
Image:
Jeff Bezos invited Wally Funk to join his spaceflight. Pic: Blue Origin/AP

It will take three minutes to take the passengers up to the required altitude, at which point they will have three minutes more in which to enjoy their sudden near-weightlessness. They’ll be allowed to unbuckle their seatbelts and float around, as well as examine the curvature of the Earth through one of the capsule’s windows. Just over 10 minutes after launch, the spacecraft will land back on Earth.

The 20 July flight will fittingly occur on the anniversary of the moon landings in 1969, but unlike the Apollo missions there will be no human piloting the modules. Instead, Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft is completely autonomous and will follow a programmed mission timeline before parachuting back to Earth.

The company has said that it expects to sell seats for more tourism flights in the future, but it isn’t clear how this will happen and the tickets for New Shepard are yet to go on general sale.

Elon Musk smiles as the audience laugh at his jokes as he hosts Saturday Night Live. Pic:NBC/YouTube
Image:
Elon Musk is the billionaire owner of SpaceX. Pic:NBC/YouTube

Elon Musk

  • Age: 50
  • Estimated Net Worth: $167bn (£121bn)
  • Company: SpaceX
  • Launch date: Unknown

“I want to die on Mars – just not on impact,” Elon Musk once quipped, although he hasn’t announced his immediate intention to travel into space at all.

Unlike both Bezos and Branson, Musk’s private spaceflight company, SpaceX, has a long and successful history of launching payloads way beyond the 100km mark.

SpaceX has announced it will be launching an all-civilian mission into orbit by the end of the year, with the passengers actually orbiting around the planet for up to four days before returning to Earth.

All four crew seats on the mission have been paid for by Jared Isaacman, the founder of Shift4 Payments, who has declined to reveal the costs.

Isaacman is donating two of the seats to St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, with one being given to a staff member there, and another intended to be raffled off to a member of the public. He hopes to raise $200m (£145m) for the hospital, alongside a $100m (£72m) donation of his own.

Elon Musk hasn’t mentioned flying on this mission himself, although he has long articulated a plan to travel to Mars, plans that have been described as a dangerous delusion by Britain’s chief astrophysicist Lord Martin Rees.

SpaceX's images of the terraforming of Mars. Pic: SpaceX
Image:
SpaceX’s images of the terraforming of Mars. Pic: SpaceX

Back in 2016, Musk outlined his vision of building a colony on Mars “in our lifetimes” – with the first rocket propelling humans to the Red Planet by 2025.

For many years the company used an image of the Martian surface being terraformed (turned Earth-like) in its promotional material. However, a NASA-sponsored study published in 2018 dismissed these plans as impossible with today’s technology.

Recently Musk has tweeted he believed it was “possible to make a self-sustaining city on Mars by 2050, if we start in five years” but as of yet, SpaceX has not planned any missions to the planet.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

World

In pictures: Prayers and tears as body of Pope Francis moved to St Peter’s Basilica

Published

4 hours ago

on

April 23, 2025

By

In pictures: Prayers and tears as body of Pope Francis moved to St Peter's Basilica

The Vatican has opened St Peter’s Basilica to the public so people can pay their final respects to Pope Francis.

Three days of public mourning will take place before the pontiff’s funeral on Saturday.

The body of Pope Francis was moved to St Peter’s Basilica from the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta earlier on Wednesday.

Here are pictures of the procession to the basilica, where tens of thousands of mourners are expected to file past the open casket over the next three days.

Pope Francis
Image:
The body of Pope Francis was escorted by a procession of solemn cardinals and Swiss Guards

Pope Francis' body is carried in a coffin into Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on the day of its translation, as seen from Rome, Italy, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Pope Francis' body is carried in a coffin into Saint Peter's Basilica on the day of its translation, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Greco TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Image:
Pic: Reuters

A woman reacts at the St. Peter's Square, on the day of the translation of Pope Francis' body and its transfer to Saint Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Image:
Emotional scenes in St Peter’s Square as the coffin approached the basilica. Pic: Reuters

Pope Francis' body is carried in a coffin into Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on the day of its translation, as seen from Rome, Italy, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Image:
Large crowds watched Wednesday’s procession. Pic: Reuters

A Swiss Guard stands as people gather in St Peter's Square on the day of the translation of Pope Francis' body, which will be transported inside the Basilica, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Image:
A Swiss Guard stands as people watch in St Peter’s Square. Pic: Reuters

A nun cries as the body of Pope Francis is carried into St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, April 23, 2025, where he will lie in state for three days. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Image:
Pic: AP

People gather in St Peter's Square on the day of the translation of Pope Francis' body, which will be transported inside the Basilica, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Swiss guards stand at Arco delle Campane on the day of the translation of Pope Francis' coffin, which will be transported inside the Basilica, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Pope Francis' body is carried in a coffin into Saint Peter's Basilica, on the day of its translation, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Pope Francis' body is carried in a coffin into Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on the day of its translation, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Nuns wait on the day of the translation of Pope Francis' body and its transfer to Saint Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Members of the clergy walk to St. Peter's Basilica on the day of the translation of Pope Francis' body and its transfer to the basilica, as seen from Rome, Italy, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Pope Francis' body is carried in a coffin into Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on the day of its translation, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Pope Francis' body is carried in a coffin into Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on the day of its translation, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Image:
The body of Pope Francis is carried in a coffin into St Peter’s Basilica. Pic: Reuters

Pope Francis' body is carried in a coffin inside Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican on the day of its translation, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
Image:
Pic: Reuters

A clergy member and Nuns attend the arrival of Pope Francis's coffin at Saint Peter's Basilica, in Vatican City, 23 April 2025. ALESSANDRO DI MEO/Pool via REUTERS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Image:
Pic: Reuters

The body of Pope Francis is carried into St. Peters Basilica for three days of lying in state, in Vatican City, 23 April 2025. ALESSANDRO DI MEO/Pool via REUTERS
Image:
The procession reaches the final moments in St Peter’s Basilica. Pic: Reuters

Cardinals pay their respects by the coffin containing Pope Francis' body, on the day of the translation of his body, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi
Image:
The wooden casket was perched on a slight ramp with Swiss Guards nearby. Pic: Reuters

A nun reacts at St. Peter's Square, on the day of the translation of Pope Francis' body and its transfer to Saint Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Susana Vera
Image:
Pic: Reuters

A cardinal walks past the coffin of Pope Francis on the day of the translation of his body, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Hannah McKay TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Continue Reading

World

‘Now is our time’: Despite tariffs, China’s Silicon Valley is ready to make its mark on the world

Published

10 hours ago

on

April 23, 2025

By

'Now is our time': Despite tariffs, China's Silicon Valley is ready to make its mark on the world

The city of Hangzhou is one of the most historic and beautiful in China.

But this ancient place now has the most modern of reputations, as China’s ‘Silicon Valley’.

A vibrant hub for entrepreneurs and high-tech start-ups, Hangzhou is home to headline-grabbing success stories like Alibaba and breakthrough AI firm, DeepSeek.

In the context of escalating competition with America, the world is increasingly paying attention.

Those who are part of the tech scene here brim with enthusiasm.

The city of Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, dubbed “China’s Silicon Valley” Stills from Helen-Ann Smith VT about city of Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, dubbed “China’s Silicon Valley”
Image:
Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, has been labelled ‘China’s Silicon Valley’

Over coffee, in an ultra-modern city complex, they describe how exciting this moment feels, not just for their businesses, but for China too.

“We have the talents, we have the environment, and we have the full supply chain, even though we have a challenging environment,” says Grace Zheng, who has worked at the AI glasses creator Looktech since its inception.

More on China

Related Topics:

“It’s our time.”

The others laugh and nod. “I agree with it,” says Jia Dou, whose company Wuli Coffee, creates high-tech, automated commercial coffee machines. “And I think it’s our time to show and battle with other foreign countries.”

Grace Zheng works for Looktech, a company which manufactures AI glasses Stills from Helen-Ann Smith VT about city of Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, dubbed “China’s Silicon Valley”
Image:
Grace Zheng is enthusiastic about the future for China

And is that a battle China could now win, I ask? “Of course,” comes the answer.

They tell stories of how estate agents in Hangzhou dedicated hours of their time for free to find the perfect laboratory space, and how the local government showered them in grants and incentives; so hungry is this city for tech success.

A conversation with tech entrepreneurs in the Chinese city of Hangzhou Stills from Helen-Ann Smith VT about city of Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, dubbed “China’s Silicon Valley”
Image:
These entrepreneurs in Hangzhou say the city supports a vibrant hub of tech start-ups

“Hangzhou says we’ll provide the sunshine and the water, you go ahead and grow,” explains Zhang Jie.

She is the convenor of this group. An entrepreneur herself and the founder of a thriving ‘incubator’ for start-ups, she has invested in and mentored all the others around the table.

She is passionate, energetic and has a second-to-none understanding of what makes Hangzhou and China’s tech scene so successful.

“In China, we have more than 10 million university and college students graduating. Then we’re talking about at least five to six million engineers with college education background,” she says.

“So with such a large group of young and intelligent people with a good environment, a favourable environment for entrepreneurship, I’m sure there will be even greater companies coming in the future.”

Zhang Jie runs an incubator to help start-ups in Hangzhou Stills from Helen-Ann Smith VT about city of Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, dubbed “China’s Silicon Valley”
Image:
Zhang Jie helps start-ups in Hangzhou, where she says entrepreneurship is able to thrive

Indeed, a combination of light-touch local regulation, (unusual in China more broadly), coupled with one of the most business-oriented and free-thinking universities in the country, Zhejiang University, is viewed by many as the secret sauce in Hangzhou.

Zhang says she has had more young people approach her with business ideas in the last quarter than at any other time before, and she is full of optimism about the current wave.

“They are already companies [in China that will] probably be greater than Apple, right?” She laughs.

And she may well be right.

But there is one name in particular, born and bred in Hangzhou, that has captured the world’s attention in recent months.

When DeepSeek unveiled its latest open-source AI model earlier this year, it stunned the world, claiming to be as good as western competitors for a fraction of the price.

The headquarters of Hangzhou-based AI firm DeepSeek Stills from Helen-Ann Smith VT about city of Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, dubbed “China’s Silicon Valley”
Image:
The Hangzhou HQ of DeepSeek, which has stunned the world with its recent AI advances

Many are now talking about the ‘DeepSeek moment’, a moment that turbocharged confidence within China and made the rest of the world sit up and take notice.

Indeed, successes like this are being lauded by China’s leaders. In February, tech bosses, including DeepSeek’s founder Liang Wenfeng, were invited to a symposium with Xi Jinping and his top team.

Photo ops and handshakes with the president, an abrupt change from the crackdown they faced just a few years ago. In fact, tech is now being positioned as a key pillar in China’s future economy, repeatedly highlighted in official communications.

But what is seen as inspiring innovation in China is viewed by the United States as a threat.

Donald Trump is moving to ramp up restrictions, including more export controls on chips being sold to China.

Read more from Sky News:
What is DeepSeek?
China raises tariffs on US

Businesses in Hangzhou are of course aware of the trade war unfolding around them, many who export to America will take a significant hit, but most think they can cope.

Dr Song Ning is one of them. He proudly shows us his factory, which is integrated with the lab work and R&D side of his business.

His company, Diagens, uses AI to massively speed up medical diagnostics, cutting the time taken to run a chromosomal screening from 30 days to 4. He is also working on a chatbot called WiseDiag which has more advanced medical understanding and can be used by patients.

Inside the factory of Diagens, a Hangzhou-based firm using AI to speed up medical diagnostics Stills from Helen-Ann Smith VT about city of Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, dubbed “China’s Silicon Valley”
Image:
This lab at the firm Diagens is using AI to speed up medical diagnostics

While they are actively seeking business in over 35 foreign countries, for now, the pursuit of American customers is on pause.

“Competition is a good thing… it makes us all stronger,” he says.

Dr Song Ning, a Hangzhou-based entrepreneur, whose businesses Diagens and WiseDiag use AI to improve medical diagnostics Stills from Helen-Ann Smith VT about city of Hangzhou, in Zhejiang province, dubbed “China’s Silicon Valley”
Image:
Dr Song Ning believes Donald Trump’s policies will not be able to impede innovation

“I do not think by limiting the scientific and technological progress of China or other countries, Trump will be able to achieve his goal, I think it is a false premise.

“Information is so developed now, each country has very smart people, it will only force us to have more tech innovation.”

While individuals remain defiant, the trade war will still leave a big hole in China’s economy. Tech firms, however advanced, can’t yet fill that gap.

But the innovation here is rapid, and there is no doubt, it will leave its mark on the world.

Continue Reading

World

Tens of thousands of the faithful to pay their respects to the Pope as he lies in state

Published

10 hours ago

on

April 23, 2025

By

Tens of thousands of the faithful to pay their respects to the Pope as he lies in state

Mourners will be able to view the body of Pope Francis lying in state in St Peter’s Basilica from Wednesday, ahead of his funeral this weekend.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to travel to the Vatican over the next three days to pay their respects to the pontiff, who died on Easter Monday at the age of 88.

After his funeral on Saturday morning (9am UK time) there will be a nine-day period of mourning, known as the “novendiali”, after which the secretive meeting – called the conclave – will begin to elect a new pope.

Pope Francis: Follow the latest

The conclave to choose his successor must start between 5 and 10 May.

The first images of his body were released on Tuesday, showing him in red vestments and his bishop’s mitre in a wooden casket.

SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, stands near the body of Pope Francis, placed in an open casket during the rite of the declaration of death in Santa Marta residence at the Vatican, April 21, 2025. Vatican Media/­Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Image:
The Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, standing over the body of Pope Francis. Pic: Reuters

The Vatican secretary of state was shown praying over him in the chapel of the Domus Santa Marta hotel where he lived and died.

More on Pope Francis

Related Topics:

Previous popes were entombed in three coffins: the first made of wood, another of lead and a third, again made of wood. But in 2024, Francis changed the rules and said that only one coffin, a wooden one lined in zinc, should be used.

In a break from tradition, he will be buried in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), according to his wishes.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

3D map shows pope’s funeral route

Following the pope’s death, from a stroke and heart failure, world leaders have praised his moral leadership and compassion.

On Tuesday, Sir Keir Starmer described him as “a quite remarkable man, and the work and commitment that he put into fairness over so many years, and globally, I think will be a real lasting legacy”.

Francis leaves behind a more inclusive but also divided Catholic Church

by Barbara Serra, Sky News presenter in Rome

An institution like the Catholic Church, which is more than 2,000 years old and has changed leadership 266 times, is well-versed in managing transition.

But while the steps that follow a pope’s death may be strictly dictated by tradition, the mood is often very different, depending on the pope that is being replaced.

The word Catholic means universal, and it’s a good reminder of the challenge facing any pope – leading a congregation 1.4 billion strong from all over the world, with differing ideas about if and how change should happen, is far from easy.

The global demographics of Catholicism are changing rapidly. Pope Francis was keenly aware of this.

We often talk about him as progressive, but a more accurate term to describe his papacy would be “inclusive”.

Read more from Barbara here

Sir Keir will join a growing list of dignitaries who will attend the funeral on Saturday, including Prince William, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ireland’s prime minister Micheal Martin, Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia, and Donald Trump.

Read more from Sky News:
St Peter’s Square full of smiles
How accurate is Conclave?
What next after the Pope?

Huge numbers have attended the funerals of Pope Francis’s predecessors.

In 2023, around 50,000 people attended the funeral of Benedict XVI, according to the Washington Post. In 2005, around 300,000 went to the funeral of John Paul II.

Once the conclave begins, cardinals vote in secret sessions in the Sistine Chapel.

After voting sessions, the ballots are burned in a special stove. Black smoke indicates that no pope has been elected, while white smoke indicates that the cardinals have chosen the next head of the Catholic Church.

Continue Reading

Trending