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February 27, 2020 ‘Sight’ Lecture
A letter to my grandchildren.
My dad, your great grand dad, was
an
extraordinary man full of wise words.
He
would often remind me that life is wonderful,
and
it’s that simple truth which has driven me as I
built
businesses, raised my family, and embarked upon
my many adventures.
You’re at the very start of life. It is an incredible gift
and it is there for the taking. It will deliver highs and lows but by living
it to the full, by always trying to do the right thing, by keeping a childlike
sense of adventure, it will indeed be wonderful. I used to think of space as a
destination, but I now realize it’s a journey with some amazing milestones
along the way.
Your lives will be transformed by space and it will give your generation the
planetary perspective on which the future of humanity rests, that we are all in
this together, fellow travelers on Spaceship Earth.
Today, we pass the most significant of all as our beautiful VSS Unity, along
with the hopes and dreams of so many, became the first spaceship built for
regular passenger service to put humans into space.
Virgin Galactic has shown that when you set off on challenging but important
ventures, exceptional people come forward to join the journey, people who are
consistently by your side and on your side, people who share your dreams, and
people who help make them reality.
As I watch Unity and her brave pilots soar upwards into space today, my vision
blurred by tears, I could hear your great granddad whisper once again in my
ear. Life is indeed wonderful.
A letter to my grandchildren.
My dad, your great grandad, was an extraordinary
man full of wise words. He would often remind me
that life is wonderful, and it’s that simple truth which
has driven me as I built businesses, raised my family,
and embarked upon my many adventures.
Sir Richard Branson
You’re at the very start of life. It is an incredible gift
and it is there for the taking. It will deliver highs
and lows but by living it to the full, by always
trying to do the right thing, by keeping a childlike sense of
adventure, it will indeed be wonderful. I used to think of space as
a destination, but I now realize it’s a journey with some amazing
milestones along the way. Your lives will be transformed by
space and it will give your generation the planetary perspective
on which the future of humanity rests, that we are all in this
together, fellow travelers on Spaceship Earth.
Today, we pass the most significant of all as our beautiful
VSS Unity, along with the hopes and dreams of so many,
became the first spaceship built for regular passenger service
to put humans into space.
Virgin Galactic has shown that when you set off on challenging
but important ventures, exceptional people come forward to
join the journey, people who are consistently by your side
and on your side, people who share your dreams, and people
who help make them reality.
As I watch Unity and her brave pilots soar upwards into
space today, my vision blurred by tears, I could hear your
great grandad whisper once again in my ear. Life is
indeed wonderful.
PRESENTATION by
GEORGE WHITESIDES
Hello, everybody. I hope you enjoyed
the video as much as I did. My name
is George Whitesides. I am the CEO
of Virgin Galactic and it’s a real
pleasure to be here.
For the pilots in the audience, and
I’m sure we have a few, that right
barrel roll that you saw at the end
was fully permitted and on the
test card.
It’s an honor to be speaking to
The Wings Club. And I really look
forward today to sharing with you
what Virgin Galactic is all about, our
vision for opening space to change
the world for good, our progress
towards becoming the first space
line for Earth, and the tantalizing
possibilities that the future holds
for the company.
George Whitesides, CEO
Of course, before I begin, I wanted
to say once again what an honor it is to be here with The Wings Club which,
as you know, was founded nearly a half century ago with the important goal
of promoting the advancement and development of aeronautics. And to serve
as a forum for discussion on aviation, how timely it is then to be able to offer
these thoughts on the world changing
developments in spaceflight and
advanced aeronautics occurring today.
And as I was saying to the folks at our
table here that I think it’s really a fun
opportunity for us, as a company, that
integrates both an airplane, a winged
vehicle, and a rocket plane, to be
able to share some thoughts to
The Wings Club.
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