By Rebecca Heilweil, Published by Vox, 25 July 2021 Six questions to consider before launching yourself into space. For many, the rise of commercial space tourism is a vulgar display of wealth and power. Amid several global crises, including climate change and a pandemic, billionaires are spending their cash on
By Tom Batchelor, Published by The Independent, 22 July 2021 Calculating effect of each rocket launch on earth’s atmosphere will require detailed modelling Amazon founder Jeff Bezos became the second billionaire in a little over a week to ride in his own rocket into space when New Shepard blasted off
By Eloise Marais, Published by Ideas Ted, 20 July 2021 The commercial race to get tourists to space is heating up between Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. On July 11, Branson ascended 80 km (49 miles) to reach the edge of space in
By Stuart Parkinson, Posted by Scientists for Global Responsibility (UK), 20 July 2021 The past few weeks have seen some frightening impacts of climate change – from record-breaking temperatures and major wildfires in western Canada and the USA to unprecedented floods in Germany and Belgium. The hottest temperature reliably recorded
By Eloise Marais, Published by The Conversation, 19 July 2021 The commercial race to get tourists to space is heating up between Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson and former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. On Sunday 11 July, Branson ascended 80 km to reach the edge of space in his
By Katharine Gammon, Published by the Guardian, 19 July 2021 One rocket launch produces up to 300 tons of carbon dioxide into the upper atmosphere where it can remain for years Last week Virgin Galactic took Richard Branson past the edge of space, roughly 86 km up – part of
By Issam Ahmed, Published by Phys.org, 18 July 2021 After years of waiting, Richard Branson's journey to space this month on a Virgin Galactic vessel was supposed to be a triumphant homecoming. Instead, the jaunt attracted significant criticism—about its carbon footprint. With Jeff Bezos set to launch on a Blue
By Paris Marx, Published by Jacobin, 13 July 2021 The space race playing out among billionaires like Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk has little to do with science — it’s a PR-driven spectacle designed to distract us from the disasters capitalism is causing here on Earth. On June
