Richard Branson’s rise to stardom as a pioneer of business is well known. Above all, he used to say, business must be fun. If you, as an entrepreneur, are enjoying what you’re doing, your employees will catch that spirit and so will your customers. And profits will follow. We, at the International Correspondent, have hitched our own wagon to that star. We have immense fun making this magazine and hope our readers enjoy it to the same extent. We’re looking forward to some profit someday.
But Branson has now changed his tune. His bestselling autobiography was called ‘Screw it, let’s do it’. A couple of weeks ago, he published an update: ‘Screw business as usual’. Entrepreneurs mustn’t only create fun, he says, but must do good in the world, take responsibility in this time of crisis. We believe he’s right. Power brings responsibility. Globalisation has sucked power away from governments. The current economic soap-opera illustrates that. Governments are running scared of the financial markets that have demonstrated their power to intervene in politics in Greece and Rome. Civilisation once spread north from those regions. Will breakdown follow the same pattern? In this mess, the business community has to take up the responsibility to restore order, or be consumed by disorder. The most farsighted of them are already doing so. Warren Buffet has led the call for the wealthy in the west to contribute more to government revenues. Hans Wijers, CEO of one of The Netherlands’ largest multinationals, Akzo Nobel, has called on the Dutch government to address the drain on the treasury that is created by our mortgage relief system.
We need to be creative. Branson’s latest venture, Virgin Gallactic, points the way. It aims to put many people into space, creating a cleaner, more sustainable and efficient form of long-distance travel.
We give his ideas our space in this issue of the International Correspondent, which is devoted to the theme Travel. It’s a big step for mankind that Branson is proposing. But big steps are necessary now. Standard & Poor’s is threatening to down-grade blue-chip countries in Europe if governments don’t act decisively to deal with the financial crisis. The Netherlands is one of those blue chip countries. We have assets enough, as our Rotterdam harbour story demonstrates. Despite the crisis, Rotterdam is transhipping more goods today than it did last year. Groningen has huge supplies of natural gas still. Our universities have achieved prominence in international ratings by taking a leap of faith no other country in Europe did and switching to English as a language of instruction. They’re attracting foreign students by the thousands. Our school system is in the top 10 internationally, despite what the education minister says. We have the basis for a modern knowledgebased economy if we manage these assets right. There’s no reason for us to withdraw behind the dykes, as our business leaders point out in their rare letter to the government. We’ve made our bed in the big wide world, with our harbour, our European hub of an airport, our reputation as an open, forward thinking nation. This country has, in the past, gone boldly where no-one went before. Screw it, let’s do it again.
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WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF YOUR MEETING?
Ronald Heister: Mainly to increase cooperation and share expertise. Meetings like these are the start of the development of commercial space travel. The 20th century was the century of air travel; the next hundred years must be that of our industry.
WHY DO SUCH MEETINGS TAKE PLACE IN THE NETHERLANDS?
Sergei Zhukov: There’s a lot of experience here, although there’s less money. And this country is known for its flexible business climate. The Dutch manage to bring diverse parties together despite national and cultural difference.
Heister: The European space centre Estec is based in The Netherlands, so a lot of space businesses have been set up here.
Sir Richard Branson: I’ve been coming here for years. People are very open and liberal here, more than elsewhere in the world. We can hope this doesn’t change because of the crisis.
COMMERCIAL SPACE TRAVEL SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING FOR THE FUTURE.
Heister: No way. In a year, the first commercial space flight will take place. My daughter, my son and I are going to be on it. Virgin Galactic has its own space ship and launching pad. We are now testing that everything is ready for our first flight next Christmas.
WHO ARE THE SPACE TRAVELLERS?
Branson: My kids and myself, to start with. We’ve sold 500 tickets for the flights that will follow. Virgin Galactic will put more people in space in its first year than the Russians and Americans in the 60 years before that.
HOW MUCH ARE THEY PAYING?
Branson: About 200,000 dollars. After that I expect the price to fall drastically, hopefully to a level where it will be possible for hundreds of thousands of people to make a space flight. We won’t be able to get the price down as low as we want right away, but probably low enough so people can choose between a long flight to another continent or a couple hours in space.
SO IT WILL BE A MILLIONAIRE’S HOBBY FOR THE TIME BEING?
Branson: For the time being. It’s costly to launch this project. The first transatlantic flights were also expensive. You need finance to develop the industry and after that to get prices down.
Heister: But the costs are lower that what governments spend to put people into space. We’re doing well.
PEOPLE SEE YOU, RICHARD BRANSON, AS AN EXTRAVAGANT ADVENTURER. THAT IMAGE WON’T PREVENT THE ORDINARY JOE FROM GETTING INVOLVED IN SPACE TRAVEL?
Branson: I don’t think so.
Heister: You need front-runners to create a new industry. Like Richard Branson here.
WHAT ABOUT SAFETY?
Heister: That’s a crucial issue. If there’s an accident at this early stage, that’s the end of the industry. Happily, Virgin Galactic has a lot of experience.
YOU SEE A FUTURE FOR SPACE TRAVEL AS A FORM OF TRANSPORT. IS IT TO REPLACE COMMERCIAL FLYING?
Heister: No. I think there’s a role for both. Air travel will be for short distances. Space for quick long-distance travel. It’s both faster and more sustainable. Commercial spacecraft use bio-fuel. It will use a lot less than an intercontinental flight. After 90 seconds, the shuttle will be out of the earth’s gravitational pull and you don’t need any more energy.
HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GET PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE OF SPACE TRAVEL?
Branson: Virgin Galactic has been in space three times. We have the technology necessary. We are a real space travel business. Once people see is in space in a year’s time, they’ll be convinced a new era has begun, and that space travel would be nice to experience.
WHY ARE YOU SO ATTRACTED TO TRAVELLING IN SPACE?
Branson: I’m drawn by the unknown. I’ve always wanted to do it. I used to think NASA and the Russians would offer space travel to ordinary people at some point. Turned out to be a vain hope. So individuals have to make space travel accessible.
HOW COME YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE THIS A COMMERCIAL SUCCESS?
Branson: With everything I’ve done, I had the idea I could do it better than the rest. I started Virgin Atlantic with one plane. Now it’s an adult business with a complete fleet. I have the same plans for commercial space travel.
IN THE PAST, YOU GOT INVOLVED IN EXISTING MARKETS. NOW YOU’RE INVESTING IN A WHILE NEW INDUSTRY.
Branson: Virgin’s main aim is to shift boundaries. We are planning to do that literally with commercial space travel.
WHAT’S MOST IMPORTANT IN DEVELOPING THE SPACE TRAVEL PART OF YOUR BUSINESS?
Branson: People. That’s the most important element in a business. The hardest decision I ever had was letting people go in 2001. After the WTC disaster Virgin Atlantic lost nearly 200 million. We had to cut costs. But after a year, we could rehire most of the employees.
YOU THINK YOU CAN DO IT BETTER. BETTER THAN WHO?
Branson:
Than the Russians and Americans in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. During the Cold War, a lot of money was invested in space technology, mainly for military and strategic reasons. They never looked at space travel as an alternative method of transport. Heister: Egos and conflict only delay developments. And they spent far more money than necessary. With commercial space travel, we have to earn back every dollar we invest. That’s a big difference.
MR HEISTER, YOU ARE THE CHAIR OF ISTA. WHAT DOES THAT ORGANISATION DO?
Heister: Isa promotes the structured development of commercial space travel. It addresses the industry and governments, but also consumers. We have 50 members in 40 countries at present. We are lobbying for international legal provisions for the industry. At the moment, it’s only possible to launch space-flights from the US. That has to change. We are also important in attracting new partners and investors.
ISN’T IT A BAD TIME TO TRY AND GET INVESTORS FOR SOMETHING NEW LIKE THIS?
Heister: We’re in a relatively good position. We don’t have to look for money. Investors are coming to us. We’ve recently set up co-operation with Global Assistance Allowance, one of the world’s largest insurers. They see a lot of growth opportunity for this industry.
Zhukov: I think it’s the time to expand borders. Space travel offers new perspectives, and a new industry. That’s the basis for further recovery. You can compare it with the Dutch explorers who set off in the heat of the 80- year war in the 16th century. Discovering new territories created the possibilities for economic development and power for years. Space travel will create new experience and knowledge.
YOU’RE REGISTERED AS A COSMONAUT SINCE 2003. WOULDN’T YOU PREFER TO GO INTO SPACE THAN TALK ABOUT SPACE AT MEETINGS?
Zhukov: In the long term I’ll achieve more for the entire industry this way.
IF SPACE TRAVEL IS ACCESSIBLE TO THE ORDINARY JOE, WON’T ASTRONAUTS AND COSMONAUTS LOSE THEIR MYSTIQUE?
Zhukov: The title ‘astronaut’ doesn’t really mean anything much to me. Our experience has opened the door for ordinary people. But they won’t travel further than 300 kilometres in space. We will always remain the pioneers.
SO NO PACKAGE TOURS TO THE MOON OR MARS, THEN?
Zhukov: That’s not commercially viable.
The International Correspondent Zhukov