By Stephen Hawking has confirmed he is going to go to space on board Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic.
Professor Hawking told Good Morning Britain that he never believed that he’d have the opportunity to travel to space, but “Richard Branson has offered me a seat on Virgin Galactic, and I said yes immediately.”
Virgin has been working hard on their Galactic spaceship for many years. It’s inaugural flight was initially pencilled in for 2009, but a series of disasters and setbacks have decelerated Sir Branson’s plans drastically. However today’s news suggests that we might not be too far away from commercial space travel.
Elsewhere in the interview Professor Hawking shared his opinion on 2016s biggest upsets: Brexit and Trump. He described the latter as a “demagogue” (I’m just gonna go ahead and define that one for you: “a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument,” cheers Google).
Hawking felt he might be unwelcome in The States under Trump’s leadership. “His priority will be to satisfy his electorate, who are not liberal nor very well-informed,”the 75-year old said.
He’s not the first celebrity to share their dislike of Trump this month, with Snoop Dogg holding a gun to a fake Donald’s head in his controversial Lavender video.
On Brexit, Professor Hawking warned that if the UK distances itself from Europe it can only mean bad things for science and discovery. He said that “leaving the EU threatens Britain’s status as a world leader in science and innovation.”
Like all aeroplanes these days, Virgin Galactic will feature rounded windows. For a look at the intriguing reason why check out our feature here.