Virgin Galactic to launch Richard Bryson into space on July 11
01 July 2021
Virgin Galactic announced Thursday plans to launch its billionaire founder Richard Branson into space on July 11.
Why it matters: The date is nine days before founder of Virgin Galactic competitor Blue Origin Jeff Bezos is set to take off to space.
- Branson will journey to space in Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity spacecraft along with two pilots and three other mission specialists as part of the company's fourth crewed mission.
What they're saying: "After more than 16 years of research, engineering, and testing, Virgin Galactic stands at the vanguard of a new commercial space industry, which is set to open space to humankind and change the world for good,' Branson said in a press release Thursday.
- "It’s one thing to have a dream of making space more accessible to all; it’s another for an incredible team to collectively turn that dream into reality," he added.
The big picture: Both Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin are attempting to open suborbital space flights to laypeople.
- The Federal Aviation Administration gave Virgin Galactic approval to carry passengers on future spaceflights in late June.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.