Once clear of the mothership, UnityвЂ™s pilots fire the rockets. When the bound vehicles reach an altitude of around 45,000 feet, Eve drops its cargo. The crew drives up to the ship in SUVs and climbs about six steps on a tiny metal staircase to the hatch. Virgin Galactic uses a technology originally developed by a company owned by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen and built by a firm called Scaled Composites, strapping a rocket-powered vehicle underneath a much larger double-fuselage airplane. That means having the travelers climb seven flights of steps to a capsule sitting on top of a giant rocket booster and literally blasting off to the skies. BezosвЂ™ Blue Origin uses traditional means of sending people to space. VirginвЂ™s literal path to space is unique. Waiting in the wings was Khalid, who had written a song, вЂњNew Normal,вЂќ to be unveiled upon the end of the ride. The live feed itself was cohosted by Stephen Colbert. As Branson walked to the launch pad, he was surrounded by cheering spectators he paused his fist-bumping stroll to sign some souvenirs offered by little children. The Virgin Galactic founder posted a photo of a welcome observer to the launch-Elon Musk. вЂњSuit up!вЂќДЄ longer version of the video showed them signing into a log book, with Branson identifying himself as Astronaut 001. We saw him arriving at the spaceport on a bicycle-pedaled across the Atlantic?-greeting his crewmates, who were already decked out in their custom-designed Under Armour suits. In the hours before the launch, BransonвЂ™s Twitter feed, along with those of his colleagues, was stuffed with slick videos intended to portray a heroвЂ™s journey.

Hundreds are already on the waiting list.Д«ranson is the king of spectacle, so itвЂ™s not surprising that the launch had a festival feel to it. Fifteen minutes later, Branson and his crew were back on Earth, ready to talk about how Virgin Galactic would be offering an identical experience to anyone willing to pay $250,000 or so. Branson was at the edge of space, around 80 kilometers up. Then fire belched from the vehicle, and in just under two minutes, it reached altitude. Branson awaited the ignition of the rocket engine with a smile frozen on his face. Branson and five of his colleagues-two pilots, three other mission specialists-were on board. At 9:25 am MT, about 45 minutes after taking off from the spaceport at the delayed time, the spaceship component of the duo, Unity, was ready to be freed from Eve. The delay meant that liftoff for todayвЂ™s planned flight, which would send a crew on Unity 50 miles above Earth, would be pushed back 90 minutes.Д«ut no matter-Richard Branson still had plenty of time to beat Jeff Bezos into outer space.ДЄnd he did it. The storm was sufficiently fierce to postpone Virgin GalacticвЂ™s planned rollout of its twin airships, mothership Eve and a space vehicle called VSS Unity, from their hangar. All rights reserved.The sky over the Spaceport America in southern New Mexico was afire with lightning last night. в„ў & В© 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. King is only the third female artist to be inducted into the hall of fame twice, according to Rolling Stone Magazine, joining Stevie Nicks and Tina Turner. Jennifer Hudson also honored King with her own rendition of вЂњNatural WomanвЂќ at the induction ceremony, which King wrote but was made famous by Aretha Franklin. вЂњMy parents are here tonight, and they would listen to all of your records in high school.вЂќ вЂњI cannot believe that itвЂ™s Carole King who gave me this award,вЂќ Swift said at her acceptance. The women have a history, and most recently, King presented Swift with her Artist of the Decade award at the 2019 American Music Awards, calling her versatility and impact вЂњextraordinary.вЂќ And also, thank you for carrying the torch forward,вЂќ King said during her induction speech. вЂњI want to thank Taylor - thank you for that awesome performance.

The best part, was when the camera panned to King in the audience and showed her wiping away tears and silently channeling her gratitude to the songwriting superstar on stage. After the first few bars, the вЂњCardiganвЂќ singer looked out into the crowd with a sly smile and briefly stuck out her tongue between her teeth as to let them in on a surprise.

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