Stephen Hawking gave space travel his blessing. Now plutocrats claim him as their own | Catherine Bennett
by Catherine Bennett from on (#3JFJ6)
Intergalactic plans by Elon Musk and others have little to do with looking up at the stars
While no one would rank it among the greatest of Professor Stephen Hawking's achievements, he plainly had a unique impact on Richard Branson, founder of, among other things, Virgin Galactic, a space tourism company.
"I heard Stephen say in a radio interview," Sir Richard wrote in a tribute, "that his ultimate ambition was to fly into space, but he thought no one would take him. I was on Necker Island and called him up straight away to offer him a seat. We have a strict no free tickets policy, but he was the exception that would prove the rule."
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