Finding My Virginity: The New Autobiography

by Richard Branson

  That wasn’t the only boost. While some of the press were highly critical, the response of our community and the wider public was unbelievably supportive. The thousands of messages of goodwill that flooded in from people who believed in Virgin Galactic and our mission overwhelmed me. At Mojave, the Galactic team covered an entire wall with supportive messages for the Scaled Composites pilots and their families. They came from everywhere, from social media to Virgin Galactic customers, from close friends to people I had never met, from Bono to my own dear mum.

  “I wish you guys that your program will recover from this and get even stronger afterward!” wrote the astronauts living on the International Space Station. “To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield!”

  Graça Machel got in touch to say: “Sadness yes, but much more encouragement to honor the journey covered so far, and embrace the way ahead with the same courage, determination and optimism.”

  June Scobee Rodgers, the widow of Space Shuttle Challenger commander Dick Scobee, wrote: “This setback is tragic, but the courage and commitment of your fellow team will soon help you all to recover, and from the energy of grief, the phoenix will arise with even more resolve and commitment.” Messages such as these brought real solace at a time of darkness.

  I was very grateful that some of the press began to report more responsibly, and recognize that Virgin Galactic had dealt very well with an extremely difficult situation. They interviewed genuine experts who understood Virgin Galactic’s purpose and expertise.

  Astronaut Mark Kelly did a series of interviews providing context around the challenges of space travel and the professionalism of Virgin Galactic. Professor Brian Cox kindly dedicated an episode of The Human Universe on BBC1 to the memory of Mike Alsbury. It focused movingly on the development of Virgin Galactic and the importance of commercial space travel to the development of humanity. Brian somehow made time to record an additional segment that paid tribute to Mike and the bravery of all test pilots. I watched it with tears streaming down my face. I wrote in my notebook: “We owe it to all of those who have risked and given so much to stay the course and deliver on the promise of creating the first commercial spaceline.”

  —

  For all the frustrations with the press coverage, by far the hardest part of the tragic accident remained the loss of one of SpaceShipTwo’s test pilots, Michael Alsbury. Mike had worked for Scaled Composites for thirteen years and was a dear friend and inspiring colleague to the many, many loved ones he left behind. My heart went out to his parents, his wife and children, his sister and the rest of his family and friends. A fund was set up to honor Mike and hundreds of thousands of dollars were quickly raised.

  I flew back to Mojave to attend and speak at Mike’s memorial service a few days later, and was honored to spend a short time with his family. They were understandably distraught at Mike’s passing, but have conducted themselves with incredible strength and compassion at all times. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “It is not length of life, but depth of life.”

  There are no words to express our grief at the loss of such a wonderful young man. But there are actions we can all take to honor his memory. We will continue our program with Mike forever at the forefront of our minds, for his commitment, his passion and his sacrifice. The team gave a nickname to the new SpaceShipTwo we were building: “Hope.” It is Mike who has given us this hope, and we hope to achieve in Mike’s name the dream he had pursued so bravely.

  —

  The NTSB, meanwhile, had completed the on-scene part of their investigation. They had taken away the SpaceShipTwo debris for further examination, and begun processing the vast amount of video evidence available. They had also interviewed Pete Siebold, whose account of the vehicle’s motion was consistent with other data the NTSB had gathered. Pete described how he had been thrown from the spaceship, as it broke up in midair, and unbuckled from his seat before his parachute deployed automatically. He was unaware of his co-pilot pulling the lever to begin the feathering system.

  There was lots of debate, both inside and outside Virgin, about what the setback meant for our future. We got a taste of what some of the media would have been like if there had been a technical problem. NASA suffered fatal accidents during their development, but it didn’t stop them persevering. Could Virgin Galactic have withstood the onslaught if SpaceShipTwo’s engine had exploded? Would we have been able to pick ourselves up from that and continue?

  I sat down with George to discuss going forward. We knew we had all the support of our astronauts, of our team, by and large of the public (though not some elements of the press).

  “We’ve been crucified in the last few days for an accident that wasn’t our fault,” I said. “It was a test flight, we lost a test pilot. If we carry on, we’re going to have to go through a lot of test flights again with the next spaceship. Because they are test flights, there is the possibility it will happen again. Are we going to be able to look in the mirror if that happens a second time? What will happen to our reputations? What will happen to the Virgin Group generally?”

  George was very honest. “We can’t rule it out. NASA had a number of accidents while developing the space program. We are in early days. There is a possibility it could happen again.”

  I felt the company would be unlikely to survive another accident, from a financial standpoint. Some of the Virgin Group board were skeptical about continuing and I could see their logic. There are many safer ways to invest our money and there is no question that the Virgin Group would be better off financially in the short term if we invested the money we are spending on Virgin Galactic into other companies. If I hadn’t owned the company, I think the program would have been knocked on the head some years ago. On the day we started, if I’d known it was going to take twelve years I suspect I wouldn’t have gone ahead with the project either—we simply couldn’t afford it. Fortunately, over the past decade we have had successes elsewhere in Virgin, as well as outside investment from Aabar in Virgin Galactic, which has enabled us to continue our dream. Sometimes long-term investments like this can only happen in private companies where an owner has a vision. It may not make perfect sense financially in the short term, but I only have one life and if we can pull this off it will be extraordinary and make so much difference to so many people.

  “If we can get through the test program,” George continued, “the chances of an accident happening with customers on board is extremely unlikely. Getting through the test program is going to be tough, but I believe we can do it.”

  “The only way we will know is to give it a go,” I agreed. “Rather than continuing to work with Scaled, let’s bring everything in-house and give it everything we’ve got.” The Spaceship Company, which is owned by Virgin Galactic and shares George as its CEO, had already been working on the new SpaceShipTwo for many months. Now, we took charge of all parts of the building, testing and developing process. We also took charge of our own test pilots. These were the major changes after the accident, giving us control over every aspect of the program.

  Back at Virgin HQ I knew I was in a minority in wanting to continue. But that didn’t stop me—I believed in the project, believed in the team and believed in the vision. My instinct is if you create something extraordinary there will be a market in the end. Is it a vanity project? I don’t think so. Elon Musk’s desire to go to Mars, and our wish to put people into space, certainly can both be perceived as vanity projects. But if people didn’t want to test themselves in an extreme way, progress wouldn’t happen and the world would be a sadder, smaller place.

  It’s important in life to question one’s motives. Am I doing it for the right reasons, or for egotistical reasons? This book has helped me to reflect on that. Does it justify the amount of money we’re spending on it? Will it make a real difference to the world? Having asked all those questions, I came to the conclusion that I’m correct in sticking my neck out on this one. I take inspirati
on from the way President Kennedy invested in the Apollo program; people questioned the benefits to mankind, but the moon landing ended up doing more for mankind than almost anything else. The information, the connectivity, the sheer awe of young kids like me marveling at that incredible trip, has burned brightly for generations. It is worth the risks and the expense to make other people’s dreams become a reality, as well as our own. With the Virgin Atlantic Challenger we sank the first time. We rebuilt it and succeeded the next time. With attempts to cross the Pacific in a balloon, we failed, learned from it, then did it the next time. I’m confident Virgin Galactic will succeed eventually, too.

  We continued our work. The Galactic team inside FAITH was already back working around the clock on our next spaceship. One of my better decisions had been to push starting development of another SpaceShipTwo around eighteen months earlier. It was already about 50 percent structurally complete. My vision was always for a spaceline consisting of a series of spaceships, motherships and a spaceport, not just one spaceship. I was also concerned that if there was ever a problem with SpaceShipTwo, it would be foolish for the staff to have nothing to do. So the hard work went on and the team got back to the nuts and bolts of spaceship development and rocket science.

  —

  I have spent a lot of time thinking about what the Virgin Galactic brand means to the broader Virgin Group, and what it could go on to mean for the world. It has never been just a business to me. Virgin has always wanted to make a difference. We have gone into markets where others dare not tread, and shaken them up. We don’t just provide services or products; we provide experiences that leave people changed, and wanting to create new world-changing experiences themselves.

  The teamwork and entrepreneurial spirit of everyone involved, from the engineers to the marketers, the rocket scientists to the doctors, is unprecedented. Many of the team quit bigger aerospace companies to join Virgin Galactic and speak enthusiastically about being part of the larger purpose and the culture. Their opinions are valued, they are empowered to make smart decisions quickly and build and test revolutionary new systems. They are unbelievably bright and share an uncommon connection through working together on something truly extraordinary.

  I am honored to continue to be a part of the journey. It has been a lifetime’s ambition to go to space, but this is born out of a personal desire to see space democratized and transform life back here on Earth. By giving people the opportunity to experience the overview effect, I am convinced they will come back to Earth determined to make a real difference. Aside from creating astronauts, developing the world’s biggest satellite constellation could be transformative for the hundreds of millions of people who are still unconnected.

  Just as the risks of space travel cannot be underestimated, so the benefits of commercial space exploration cannot be understated. As Joseph Baladi put it in a Singapore Business Times piece titled “Per ardua ad astra”—Through adversity to the stars: “Virgin Galactic is, in a real sense, on a mission that has the potential to change the course of human destiny. . . . Virgin Galactic will surely one day take ‘tourists’ into space. But this is a means to an end. The real contribution Virgin Galactic is making lies in breaking a frontier that will eventually reveal endless new possibilities and help transport humankind to the next level. It is a grand purpose.”

  Yes, I believe that commercial space travel can become a profitable enterprise—but that is not the point. If I had merely wanted to make more money, I could have invested in far safer, more reliable sectors. I believe that putting our faith in space travel serves, quite literally, a higher purpose. We could expand our understanding of the universe, explore the great unknown and improve countless lives back on Earth. In the decades to come, we could be a precursor to further space exploration, which could lead to the colonization of other planets and the eventual endurance of the human race. There can be no greater challenge.

  As we continue our space program, I remain convinced we will be the first commercial company to fly people to space, for the benefit of everyone on our own planet. As Professor Stephen Hawking said, the team at Virgin Galactic “has my utmost respect for enabling more of humanity to experience the true wonder of space. I have said in the past ‘Look up at the stars and not down at your feet,’ but I believe that ‘looking up’ will no longer be a requirement to see the universe in all its glory.”

  CHAPTER 35

  Floating

  The weeks following the SpaceShipTwo accident were an extraordinary time of conflicting emotions for everyone at Virgin. The tragic loss of Mike Alsbury was front and center of my thoughts, but the Virgin America and Virgin Money teams had to get on with their own jobs at hand. For many, many months, we were preparing for two of the biggest decisions we had ever made: taking the companies public on the Stock Exchange. It was the hardest couple of weeks of my life, going back and forth from Mojave, dealing with the fallout from the accident and trying to keep on the ball with the IPOs.

  We held a board meeting at Virgin Group and very quickly I realized there were very mixed views around the table about whether we should carry on with the floats. We had to ask tough questions, which it almost felt distasteful to discuss in the circumstances.

  “Does anybody think it is disrespectful to carry on with these deals?” I asked.

  But everyone agreed we had to keep moving forward with other Virgin businesses.

  “Is the brand resilient enough to stand up to all of the extra scrutiny?” asked Josh, thinking aloud. “I think it is, but what does anyone else think?”

  As we talked it through, it became abundantly clear to me that the right thing to do was to persevere. Josh, too, argued very strongly that we should carry on.

  “The only reason we shouldn’t go ahead is if we don’t think these companies are strong enough,” he said. “I’m absolutely convinced they stand on their own two feet, and this isn’t affected by the Galactic incident.”

  By the end of the meeting, everyone was on the same page. “Let’s truck on,” I said. I’ve no idea why that phrase came to mind.

  With Virgin America’s partner Cyrus Capital, we went through the exhaustive process of getting a successful listing ready for the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in New York. Over in the UK, meanwhile, Jayne-Anne was preparing Virgin Money for their IPO. What we were attempting was unprecedented: two public listings in two completely different sectors by one brand within twenty-four hours. But while I agreed with Josh that we should go ahead, and much as I regard my role as present, I didn’t feel it was right for me to attend either IPO in person, out of respect for those affected by the events in Mojave.

  So often in life, timing is everything. On 13 November we announced Virgin Money’s flotation on the London Stock Exchange. Another bank, Aldermore, announced its intention to list a month before us and had to pull out, as the market wasn’t right. If we had been a week earlier we would also have had to pull. As it was, the IPO was priced at 283p a share, valuing Virgin Money at £1.25 billion. The market took to the flotation well; shares rose a little on the first day and kept rising in the ensuing months. We made a final £50 million payment regarding the sale of Northern Rock, making the total paid to the British government over £1 billion. When we announced our full-year results in March 2015, pre-tax profit had more than doubled to £121.2 million. All of the shareholders who had doubts earlier in the year were now satisfied.

  “Is this really our bank?” I wrote to Jayne-Anne. “I feel almost like a grown-up!” It felt a long way since I had been rejected by Coutts for being a hippy.

  Since going public, our punk roots have come to the fore. What would be more fitting than to put the original counterculture heroes and Virgin Records rebels the Sex Pistols on our credit cards? We were celebrating our heritage and making ourselves out as being a completely different challenger bank from our rivals. As we sent around the advertising copy to newspapers, I was amazed that, four de
cades since we had been arrested for using the word “bollocks” on the album cover, and winning the court case, they still refused to run the adverts!

  I wasn’t worried, though; it was another occasion for us to say bollocks to normal banking. Since day one Virgin Money has done things differently to make everyone better off. The original fourteen people Jayne-Anne brought across with her to launch Virgin Money have now been joined by thousands more staff, serving 2.8 million customers across seventy-five stores and five Lounges.

  “It turns out banking without the bollocks wasn’t such a bad idea after all,” I wrote to her. “And I’m more than happy for you to call me an absolute banker.”

  The very next morning after the Virgin Money flotation, David Cush and the team gathered in New York to ring the bell and officially make Virgin America a public company. From an IPO price of $23 a share, prices soared 25 percent, making the airline worth over $1 billion. As I look back on Virgin America’s progress, it is one of the businesses I am most proud of. One of the Virgin Group’s partners, Evan Lovell, reminded me his first ever call as a Virgin America board member was with a bankruptcy counsel. We reported a $270 million loss from the start of operations to midway through 2010. At the end of 2013 we announced a full-year profit of more than $10 million. As 2014 came to a close we had more than twenty destinations across the US and Mexico and thousands of industrious staff and fervent fans.

  As with the Sex Pistols credit card, there was a musical link for Virgin America, too. On the same day we went public on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, we also reached the magnificent milestone of one million hours of commercial flying. The historic journey went to one of our very first planes, when she flew from San Francisco to Newark. Fittingly, she was called California Dreaming.