ANONYMOUS - OUR VOICE

How online fundraising led voters to donate more money than they realized

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Navigating ethics and privacy online is difficult, and it only gets worse when money is involved. With so much of our identities already online, many are now realizing that their wallets are the privacy boundary they aren’t willing to cross.
During the presidential race last fall, some Americans unknowingly crossed this boundary while donating money using online fundraising services, and four state attorneys general are currently trying to uncover more information. In late April, the attorneys general for New York, Minnesota, Maryland, and Connecticut <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/09/politics/political-fundraising-winred-actblue/index.html">sent letters</a> to two online fundraising services requesting information on their use of prechecked boxes that opted contributors into a recurring donation schedule. Two organizations received these letters: WinRed, which accepts donations for Republican candidates, and ActBlue, its Democratic equivalent.
<h2>One campaign donation turned into thousands of dollars</h2>
A <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/03/us/politics/trump-donations.html">New York Times</a> investigation in April showed how WinRed had used prechecked boxes in their online donation forms which automatically opted donors into monthly or even weekly donations after they voluntarily donated an initial sum, similar to a subscription service. In situations like this, the onus is on the user to deselect the service rather than actively select participation. However, enough users missed the boxes for the scheme to be a fundraising success.
The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/03/us/politics/trump-donations.html">New York Times article</a> found that “a clear pattern emerged. Donors typically said they intended to give once or twice and only later discovered on their bank statements and credit card bills that they were donating over and over again.”
Both ActBlue and WinRed used prechecked boxes without explicitly informing their users throughout the 2020 election, but not to the same degree, a fact illustrated by comparing the scale of donation refunds. WinRed, a for-profit donation service, was repeatedly flagged for fraud, and the Trump campaign ended up <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommybeer/2021/04/03/trump-campaign-reportedly-forced-to-refund-more-than-122-million-to-donors/?sh=4d0b840158a3">refunding $122 million</a>, more than 10 percent of what it raised on WinRed in 2020. The Biden campaign, via ActBlue, which is <a href="https://support.actblue.com/donors/about-actblue/why-is-actblue-a-nonprofit/">a nonprofit organization</a>, refunded 2.2 percent of online donations.
Throughout the election, other groups also used the precheck tool, including <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/07/us/politics/republicans-donations-trump-defector.html?searchResultPosition=3">the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee</a>. However, the DCCC stated that the user receives a notification directly after the donation is processed alerting them to their decision.
After receiving the letter requesting information from the attorneys general, ActBlue <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/06/us/politics/fec-trump-donations.html">said in May</a> that it was phasing the use of this tool out, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/08/us/politics/prechecked-boxes-donations-winred-act-blue.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage">beginning on July 1</a>, ActBlue now requires any fundraiser that still uses prechecked boxes to explicitly ask users to donate on a recurring basis. WinRed, on the other hand, has been pushing back. In fact, the company has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/09/politics/political-fundraising-winred-actblue/index.html">sued Minnesota</a> to stop the scrutiny, saying that federal law oversees its activities and state consumer protection laws should not concern them. In a <a href="https://winred.com/blog/winred-takes-legal-action-against-democrat-attorneys-general/">statement on its website</a>, WinRed accuses the attorneys general of “exploiting their positions of power for partisan gain” and calls the inquiry itself “unlawful, partisan, and hypocritical.”
Worth noting is that many Americans using online platforms to donate are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/03/us/politics/trump-donations.html">working-class men and women</a>, retirees, and veterans who were not financially able to give recurring sums of money. The New York Times investigation found that some contributors who had donated and subsequently been caught in the donation trap only realized the extent of the damage once their rent payments bounced or their credit cards were rejected. And most of the people getting caught in deceptive donation tactics are older, a trend that is consistent across both parties. Data analyzed by the Times shows that the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/26/us/politics/recurring-donations-seniors.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share">average age of donors</a> who received refunds is about 65 for ActBlue and almost 66 from WinRed. In addition, according to federal records, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/26/us/politics/recurring-donations-seniors.html?partner=slack&smid=sl-share">56 percent</a> of WinRed’s online contributions come from retired Americans, which means that older Americans are donating more, and getting refunded more due to dissatisfaction.
Since May, legislation has been introduced in the House and the Senate to ban the use of prechecked boxes at the federal level. But <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22351108/dark-patterns-ui-web-design-privacy">Vox’s Sara Morrison</a> writes that, as online capabilities grow, legislation surrounding online privacy laws will not be easy to formulate: “The line between deliberate deception and legally urging a user to make a choice that materially benefits a company can be blurry.”
<h2>Making choices online isn’t as straightforward as you think</h2>
Whether or not WinRed cooperates with the states’ request for information, the fact remains that they were able to take over $100 million from Americans all over the country with a few clicks. This not only indicates a misplaced trust in digital spaces, it also shows that websites are willing to exploit this trust for their gain — and many people are only starting to realize how much the digital spaces they frequent can get away with. A large part of this is the use of dark patterns.
Sara Morrison <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22351108/dark-patterns-ui-web-design-privacy">defines dark patterns</a> as “design that manipulates or heavily influences users to make certain choices,” while Harry Brignull, who <a href="https://www.darkpatterns.org/">coined the term</a>, wrote that a dark pattern is “a user interface carefully crafted to trick users into doing things they might not otherwise do.”
The problem is that we don’t know when we’re being tricked. When trust is breached, as in the case of the prechecked boxes, the resulting loss is monetary and there are ways to quantify it, like referencing a bank account. When the loss is personal information, it’s harder to notice, and in many cases, harder to understand why we should care.
As Morrison reports, one example is careful word choice: like Instagram preferring “activity” and “personalized” rather than “tracking” or “targeted.” This obscures the real meaning of what a user is agreeing to and leads to more people allowing the app permissions. Because users don’t often know what they’re agreeing to, and the results of clicking an “allow” button are not usually intrusive, it’s easier to do this than to constantly be barraged by follow-up requests.
In addition to hiding information in fine print, as WinRed did with its prechecked boxes, some <a href="https://www.inputmag.com/features/pop-up-ads-ads-are-trying-to-shame-you">websites use emotional manipulation</a> to get the information they want. The signup button to receive a fashion newsletter might say “I love wearing nice clothes,” while the opt-out button might say, “I don’t have a washing machine.”
WinRed <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/03/us/politics/trump-donations.html">used this tactic on its donation page</a> in messages like: “If you UNCHECK this box, we will have to tell Trump you’re a DEFECTOR & sided with the Dems.” Whether this type of user shaming is in conjunction with saying no to a newsletter or no to your presidential candidate, dark patterns are designed to get more people to say yes online.
As of now, the attorneys general are waiting for more information from both WinRed and ActBlue on their transparency practices. WinRed has argued that state players should not be involved in this issue, but the attorneys general take another perspective, stating that online donation policies affect individuals at a state level and thus the issue lands under their jurisdiction.
“Every Minnesotan is protected under the law from fraud and deception,” John Stiles, deputy chief of staff to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/09/politics/political-fundraising-winred-actblue/index.html">told CNN</a>. “It’s the attorney general’s job to protect Minnesotans and enforce those laws, no matter who may break them.”
 
 
source <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/7/11/22572641/dark-patterns-online-fundraising-voters-donate-money-campaigns">https://www.vox.com/2021/7/11/22572641/dark-patterns-online-fundraising-voters-donate-money-campaigns</a>

vox How online fundraising led voters to donate more money than they realized

Navigating ethics and privacy online is difficult, and it only gets worse when money is involved. With so much of our identities already on...

US Team Going To Haiti To Assess Needs, Says Pentagon

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An inter-agency team including the FBI are heading down to Haiti: Pentagon spokesman John Kirby
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WILMINGTON, Delaware:
A team of US security and law enforcement experts is traveling to Haiti to determine what assistance Washington can provide following the assassination of the Haitian president last week, the Pentagon said on Sunday.
"Today, an inter-agency team largely from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are heading down to Haiti right now to see what we can to do help in the investigative process," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told "Fox News Sunday."
"That's really where our energies are best applied right now - in helping them get their arms around investigating this incident and figuring out who's culpable ... and how best to hold them accountable," Kirby said in the interview.
President Joe Biden will be briefed by the team when it returns and "then make decisions about the way forward," a senior Biden administration official told Reuters separately.
Haiti has sought U.S. aid in securing the country and investigating the attack that killed President Jovenel Moise on Wednesday at his Port-au-Prince home and plunged the impoverished island nation further into turmoil. Haitian authorities have said two Haitian Americans were among the suspected assassins.
It was not immediately clear how long the U.S. team would remain in Haiti. The administration official said on Sunday that Washington would also consult with its regional partners and the United Nations.
The United States has so far rebuffed Haiti's request for troops, while the United Nations would need Security Council authorization to send armed forces.
Kirby said: "We're analyzing it just like we would any other request for assistance at the Pentagon. It's going through a review."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-team-going-to-haiti-to-assess-needs-says-pentagon-2484352">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-team-going-to-haiti-to-assess-needs-says-pentagon-2484352</a>

news world US Team Going To Haiti To Assess Needs, Says Pentagon

An inter-agency team including the FBI are heading down to Haiti: Pentagon spokesman John Kirby WILMINGTON, Delaware: A team of US secu...

Sirisha Bandla Becomes Third Indian-Origin Woman To Fly Into Space

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Sirisha Bandla Becomes Third Indian-Origin Woman To Fly Into Space" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-07/q29ct11o_sirisha-bandla-650_625x300_11_July_21.jpg" title="Sirisha Bandla Becomes Third Indian-Origin Woman To Fly Into Space" /></div>
Sirisha Bandla joined Richard Branson and five others on board Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Unity
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Houston:
Aeronautical engineer Sirisha Bandla on Sunday became the third Indian-origin woman to fly into space when she joined British billionaire Richard Branson on Virgin Galactic's first fully crewed suborbital test flight from New Mexico.
Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity, as the spaceplane is called, took off for the 1.5-hour mission above New Mexico following a 90-minute delay due to bad weather.
Ms Bandla joined Branson and five others on board Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Unity to make a journey to the edge of space from New Mexico.
"I am so incredibly honoured to be a part of the amazing crew of #Unity22, and to be a part of a company whose mission is to make space available to all," 34-year-old Bandla tweeted days before the flight.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I really didn't need to tweet this since my friends flooded the feed yesterday with it❤️I was overwhelmed (in a good way!) by messages of love, unrecognizable capital text, and positivity yesterday. Slowly working my way through them...one platform at a time!
— Sirisha Bandla (@SirishaBandla) <a href="https://twitter.com/SirishaBandla/status/1410947220418011138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2021</a></blockquote>
"When I first heard that I was getting this opportunity, it was just... I was speechless. I think that that probably captured it very well. This is an incredible opportunity to get people from different backgrounds, different geographies and different communities into space," she said in a video posted on the Twitter handle of Virgin Galactic on July 6.
The primary objective for Unity 22 was to serve as a test flight for future commercial passenger flights by Virgin Galactic.
Ms Bandla, who was born in Guntur district in Andhra Pradesh and brought up in Houston, was astronaut No 004 and her flight role was Researcher Experience. The other crew members were two pilots and three other crewmates, including billionaire Branson, who turns 71 in a week.
She became the third Indian-origin woman to fly into space after Kalpana Chawla and Sunita Williams. Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma is the only Indian citizen to travel in space. The former Indian Air Force pilot flew aboard Soyuz T-11 on April 3, 1984, part of the Soviet Interkosmos programme.
Ms Bandla moved to the US when she was 4-year-old and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University in 2011. She finished her Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University in 2015.
Ms Bandla wanted to be an astronaut for the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). However, her poor eyesight meant she could not meet the requirements to become a pilot or an astronaut.
When she was at Purdue University, a professor told her about an opportunity in the field of commercial space flights.
Virgin Galactic - the business Branson started in 2004 - aims to fly private citizens to the edge of space. The trips are designed to permit passengers to experience three to four minutes of weightlessness and observe the curvature of Earth.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/indians-abroad/virgin-galactic-sirisha-bandla-becomes-third-indian-origin-woman-to-fly-into-space-2484291">https://www.ndtv.com/indians-abroad/virgin-galactic-sirisha-bandla-becomes-third-indian-origin-woman-to-fly-into-space-2484291</a>

news world Sirisha Bandla Becomes Third Indian-Origin Woman To Fly Into Space

Sirisha Bandla joined Richard Branson and five others on board Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo Unity Houston: Aeronautical engineer ...

US Top Coronavirus Advisor Terms Delta Strain Of Covid As "Nasty Variant"

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"Good news is that we have a vaccine that works against it (Delta variant)," Dr Anthony Fauci said (File)
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Washington:
US top coronavirus adviser Dr Anthony Fauci on Sunday (local time) characterised the Delta strain of COVID-19 as a "nasty variant".
"It is very clear that this is a nasty variant. It has a much greater capacity of transmitting from person to person," Fauci said, adding that the COVID vaccines that are being used in America to fight the coronavirus "are working very well" and do protect against the Delta variant.
"The bad news is that we have a very nasty variant, the good news is that we have a vaccine that works against it," The Hill quoted Fauci's interview with ABC's "This Week."
The nation's leading infectious disease doctor also voiced concern for what he called a "schism between some states and some areas that have a very low level of vaccination."
US President Joe Biden last week renewed a call for all Americans to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, saying his administration is prepared to be more aggressive in fighting vaccine misinformation and eliminating barriers to inoculation for all citizens, The Hill reported.
"It's never been easier, and it's never been more important," Biden said. "Do it now for yourself and the people you care about, for your neighborhood, for your country. It sounds corny, but it is a patriotic thing to do."
Earlier this week, Fauci stated that most COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective against the rapidlyCOVID-19: Dr Fauci terms Delta st spreading Delta variant and reiterated his request for people to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
Stressing that the science is clear, he said that the best way to protect an individual against the virus and the variants is to be fully vaccinated. "It works. It is free. It is safe. It is easy. And it is convenient," he added.
The head of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases also said he is "quite concerned" about the Delta variant in the US.
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-top-coronavirus-advisor-dr-anthony-fauci-terms-delta-strain-of-covid-19-as-nasty-variant-2484279">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-top-coronavirus-advisor-dr-anthony-fauci-terms-delta-strain-of-covid-19-as-nasty-variant-2484279</a>

news world US Top Coronavirus Advisor Terms Delta Strain Of Covid As "Nasty Variant"

"Good news is that we have a vaccine that works against it (Delta variant)," Dr Anthony Fauci said (File) Washington: US top ...

Experience Of Lifetime: Richard Branson After Few Minutes Of Space Flight

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Billionaire Richard Branson took off Sunday from a base in New Mexico aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel
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United States:
British billionaire Richard Branson flew into space Sunday aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel, a voyage he described as the "experience of a lifetime" -- and one he hopes will usher in an era of lucrative space tourism.
"Congratulations to all our wonderful team at Virgin Galactic for 17 years of hard, hard work to get us this far," he said during a live feed as the VSS Unity spaceship glided back to Spaceport America in New Mexico.
It reached a peak altitude of around 53 miles (85 kilometers) -- beyond the boundary of space, according to the United States -- allowing the passengers to experience weightlessness and admire the Earth's curvature.
The trip proceeded without drama, and touchdown occurred at around 9:40 am Mountain Time (1540 GMT), about an hour after take-off.
The mission's success means Branson has beaten fellow billionaire Jeff Bezos in the race to be the first tycoon to cross the final frontier in a ship built by a company he founded.
Earlier, a massive carrier plane took off and ascended to 50,000 feet before dropping VSS Unity to complete the rest of the flight using its rocket-powered engine.
The spaceplane carried two pilots and four passengers, including Branson.
The ship then re-entered the atmosphere, lowered its flexible wings and glided back to the runway.
A smiling Branson hugged loved ones after the trip.
"It's a beautiful day to go to space," the brash Brit wrote in a tweet earlier where he posted a video of himself biking to the base and meeting with his crewmates, all Virgin employees.
He also posted a picture of himself standing in a kitchen with SpaceX boss Elon Musk, who'd come to show his support.
Several tourists journeyed to the International Space Station in the 2000s, but on Russian rockets.
Branson's official role is to evaluate the private astronaut experience to enhance the journey for future clients.
Space base
Branson, who founded the Virgin Group that today has interests in everything from commercial aviation to fitness centers, is known for his appetite for adventure and has set world records in hot air ballooning and boating.
"As a child, I wanted to go to space," the 70-year-old wrote a few days ahead of his trip.
He founded Virgin Galactic in 2004, but the dream almost came to an end in 2014 when an in-flight accident caused the death of a pilot, considerably delaying the program.
Since then, VSS Unity has successfully reached space three times, in 2018, 2019 -- which included the first crew member who wasn't a pilot -- and finally in May this year.
Sunday's flight left from Spaceport America, a huge base built in the Jornada del Muerto desert, around 20 miles southeast of the nearest town, Truth or Consequences.
Financed largely by the state of New Mexico, Virgin Galactic is the principal tenant.
Paying passengers in 2022?
After Sunday, Virgin Galactic plans two further flights, and then the start of regular commercial operations from early 2022. The ultimate goal is to conduct 400 flights per year.
Some 600 tickets have already been sold to people from 60 different countries -- including Hollywood celebrities -- for prices ranging from $200,000 to $250,000.
And though, according to Branson, "space belongs to us all," the opportunity for now remains the preserve of the privileged.
"When we return, I will announce something very exciting to give more people the chance to become an astronaut," he promised.
The competition in the space tourism sector, whose imminent rise has been announced for years, has come to a head this month.
Bezos, the richest person in the world, is due to fly on July 20 on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket.
Blue Origin posted an infographic Friday boasting the ways in which the experience it offers is superior.
The principal point: New Shepard climbs up to more than 60 miles in altitude, thus exceeding what is called the Karman line, the frontier of space according to international convention.
Bezos himself wished Branson "best of luck" in an Instagram post.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/billionaire-richard-branson-takes-off-aboard-virgin-galactic-to-the-edge-of-space-2484260">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/billionaire-richard-branson-takes-off-aboard-virgin-galactic-to-the-edge-of-space-2484260</a>

news world Experience Of Lifetime: Richard Branson After Few Minutes Of Space Flight

Billionaire Richard Branson took off Sunday from a base in New Mexico aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel United States: British billionair...

Richard Branson's Choice Of Transport To Spaceship Launch Pad - A Bicycle

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<div class="ins_instory_dv_cont"><img alt="Richard Branson's Choice Of Transport To Spaceship Launch Pad - A Bicycle" src="https://c.ndtvimg.com/2021-07/2eckbjr_richard-branson650_625x300_11_July_21.jpg" title="Richard Branson's Choice Of Transport To Spaceship Launch Pad - A Bicycle" /></div>
Video posted online by Virgin Galactic showed Richard Branson arriving at the spaceport on his bicycle
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Truth and Consequences, New Mexico:
British billionaire Richard Branson prepared on Sunday to climb into his Virgin Galactic passenger rocket plane and soar more than 50 miles (80 km) above the New Mexico desert in the vehicle's first fully crewed test flight to the edge of space.
Branson, one of six Virgin Galactic Holding Inc employees strapping in for the ride, has touted the flight as a precursor to a new era of space tourism, with the company he founded poised to begin commercial operations next year.
Sunday's launch of the VSS Unity rocket plane will mark the company's 22nd test flight of its SpaceShipTwo system, and its fourth crewed mission beyond Earth's atmosphere. It is also the first to carry a full complement of space travelers - two pilots and four "mission specialists," Branson among them.
A week away from his 71st birthday, Branson and his crewmates walked onto the tarmac of New Mexico's Spaceport America waving to a throng of onlookers before boarding Land Rovers for a short drive to the waiting Unity rocket plane parked at the end of a taxiway.
Video posted online by Virgin Galactic showed Branson arriving at the spaceport on his bicycle and greeting his crewmates with a hug.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It's a beautiful day to go to space. We've arrived at <a href="https://twitter.com/Spaceport_NM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Spaceport_NM</a>. Get ready to watch LIVE at 7:30 am PT | 10:30 am ET | 3:30 pm BST <a href="https://t.co/PcvGTmA661">https://t.co/PcvGTmA661</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Unity22?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Unity22</a><a href="https://t.co/4KjGPpjz0M">pic.twitter.com/4KjGPpjz0M</a>
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) <a href="https://twitter.com/richardbranson/status/1414205913200746498?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2021</a></blockquote>
A festive gathering of space industry executives, future customers and other well-wishers were on hand to witness the launch event, which was to be livestreamed in a presentation introduced by late-night television host Stephen Colbert. Among those present was fellow billionaire and space industry pioneer Elon Musk, who also is founder of electric carmaker Tesla Inc.
Grammy-nominated R&B singer Khalid was due to take the stage after the flight to perform a forthcoming single "New Normal."
Takeoff from New Mexico's state-owned Spaceport of America, located near the aptly named desert town of Truth or Consequences, was set for around 10:30 a.m. EDT (1430 GMT), following a 90-minute scheduling delay due to overnight thunderstorms.
The gleaming white spaceplane will be borne aloft attached to the underside of a specially designed twin-fuselage carrier jet VMS Eve - named for Branson's late mother. (Graphic of spaceship) https://tmsnrt.rs/2TNbexN
Separating from the mothership at an altitude of 50,000 feet, Unity's rocket engine will then ignite to send the spaceplane streaking straight upward to the blackness of space some 55 miles (88.5 km) high, where the crew will experience about four minutes of microgravity.
With the engine shut down near the peak of its climb, the craft will then be shifted into re-entry mode before gliding back to a runway landing at the spaceport. The entire flight, from takeoff to touchdown, should take about 90 minutes.
HIGH-COST TICKETS
Assuming the mission goes well, Virgin has plans for two further test flights of the spaceplane in the months ahead before beginning regular commercial operation in 2022.
This is no discount travel service. But demand is apparently strong, with several hundred wealthy would-be citizen astronauts already having booked reservations, priced at around $250,000 per ticket.
The Swiss-based investment bank UBS has estimated the potential value of the space tourism market reaching $3 billion annually by 2030.
Proving rocket travel safe for the public is key, given the inherent dangers of spaceflight.
An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.
Branson's participation in Sunday's flight, announced just over a week ago, is in keeping with his persona as the daredevil executive whose Virgin brands - from airlines to music companies - have long been associated with ocean-crossing exploits in sailboats and hot-air balloons.
SPACE RACE
His ride-along also upstages rival astro-tourism venture Blue Origin and its founder, Amazon mogul Jeff Bezos, in what has been popularized as the "billionaire space race."
Bezos has been planning to fly aboard his own suborbital rocketship, the New Shepard, later this month.
Branson has insisted he and Bezos are friendly rivals and not engaged in a personal contest to beat one another into space.
Bezos posted a message on Instagram on Saturday wishing Branson and his team good luck and "a successful and safe flight," but nonetheless there has been some public rancor between the two.
Blue Origin has disparaged Virgin Galactic as falling short of a true spaceflight experience, saying that unlike Unity, Bezos's New Shepard tops the 62-mile-high-mark (100 km), called the Kármán line, set by an international aeronautics body as defining the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and space.
"New Shepard was designed to fly above the Kármán line so none of our astronauts have an asterisk next to their name," Blue Origin said in a series of Twitter posts on Friday.
However, U.S. space agency NASA and the U.S. Air Force both define an astronaut as anyone who has flown higher than 50 miles (80 km).
A third player in the space race, Musk's SpaceX, plans to send its first all-civilian crew (without Musk) into orbit in September, after having already launched numerous cargo payloads and astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA.
Branson's official role in Sunday's test flight is to "evaluate the private astronaut experience," according to Virgin's press materials.
The spaceplane's two pilots, Dave Mackay and Michael Masucci, will control the ignition and shutoff of the ship's rocket engine, activation of the vehicle's "feathered" tail maneuver for re-entry and steer the craft back to its runway.
The three other mission specialists are Beth Moses, the company's chief astronaut instructor; Virgin Galactic's lead operations engineer Colin Bennett; and Sirisha Bandla, a research operations and government affairs vice president.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
 
 
source <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/virgin-galactics-richard-bransons-choice-of-transport-to-spaceship-launch-pad-a-bicycle-2484252">https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/virgin-galactics-richard-bransons-choice-of-transport-to-spaceship-launch-pad-a-bicycle-2484252</a>

news world Richard Branson's Choice Of Transport To Spaceship Launch Pad - A Bicycle

Video posted online by Virgin Galactic showed Richard Branson arriving at the spaceport on his bicycle Truth and Consequences, New Mexic...