Virgin Galactic is a spaceflight company founded by Richard Branson.
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LESSON INSTRUCTIONS:
Read through the paragraphs and the new vocabulary, then watch the video and answer the questions beneath the video. Then return to the beginning of the lesson and complete the writing exercises using the nominated grammar concepts. You will also find a series of grammar questions towards the end of the lesson.
INTRODUCTION: QUESTION? What is Virgin Galactica?
Virgin Galactic’s first private space tourism flight to take off in June 2023
https://www.virgingalactic.com/
After several setbacks that delayed the launch of its first commercial passenger flight, Richard Bransons’ Virgin Galactic announced it is targeting late May for the fifth-ever space-flight of “SpaceShipTwo”, also known as VVS Unity. If the flight succeeds, the space tourism company hopes to launch its first commercial flight in June. The mission will take off from Spaceport America in New Mexico, where Virgin Galactic’s recently-opened an operations hub.
Each flight performed by Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity has been part of a test campaign. The upcoming flight in May, called Unity 25, is, expected to be the last test flight before the spaceplane’s space tourism services go fully operational. If all goes according to plan, it would be the first flight of Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane since July 2021, when its founder Branson flew to suborbital space with three other crew members. Before the first private space trip, Virgin Galactic will send four Virgin Galactic employees — Jamila Gilbert, Christopher Huie, Luke Mays, and Beth Moses — to space. Mike Masucci and C.J. Sturckow will pilot Unity.
QUESTION: ASK ME ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THIS PARAGRAPH:
WRITING: WRITE A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS PARAGRAPH:
https://www.fiverr.com/s/KWmqp4
SECTION ONE:
Virgin Galactic launches people into suborbital space for a brief window of time, so they can experience Earth from space. The space company’s primary spacecraft, VVS Unity, is a reusable spaceplane designed to carry passengers and scientific payloads. It is launched from a carrier aircraft called White Knight Two, which takes it to a high altitude before releasing it. Once released, VVS Unity’s rocket engines ignite, propelling it into suborbital space. Passengers on board would experience several minutes of weightlessness and get a view of Earth from space before the spacecraft glides back to Earth for landing.
QUESTION: ASK ME ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THIS PARAGRAPH:
WRITING: WRITE A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS PARAGRAPH:
GRAMMAR SECTION: The first conditional. Watch the video below and then follow the teacher’s instructions.
Study the first conditional examples below.
Now answer the multiple-choice questions below.
SECTION TWO:
As it seems, Virgin Galactic could be on the verge of beginning commercial space operations. Its main competitor, Blue Origin, has already flown several commercial crews to suborbital space, but its New Shepard rocket has been grounded since last year after an anomaly triggered its escape capsule system during an uncrewed scientific mission.
QUESTION: ASK ME ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THIS PARAGRAPH:
WRITING: WRITE A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS PARAGRAPH:
LISTENING SECTION:
Listen to the video and answer the questions below.
QUESTIONS:
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- Who sang the song that was playing in the background?
- What does “a mouthful” mean?
- How many kilometers from London to Sydney?
- What is a backlog of 800 customers? What does “backlog” mean?
- How much is a ticket?
- What does the expression “out of this world” mean?
- What are the barriers?
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SECTION THREE:
Who owns the Virgin Group of companies?
Having started Virgin as a mail-order record retailer in 1970, Richard founded Virgin Records. After the first Virgin artist, Mike Oldfield released ‘Tubular Bells’, Virgin Records signed household names from the Sex Pistols to The Rolling Stones. There are now more than 40 Virgin companies worldwide in over 35 countries.
QUESTION: ASK ME ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THIS PARAGRAPH:
WRITING: WRITE A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS PARAGRAPH:
SECTION FOUR:
Richard has challenged himself with many record-breaking adventures, including the fastest-ever Atlantic Ocean crossing, a series of oceanic balloon journeys, and kitesurfing across the Channel. He has described Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline, as being “the greatest adventure of all”. Richard has over 40 million followers on social media and he blogs regularly on issues ranging from entrepreneurship to the environment and adventure to purpose.
QUESTION: ASK ME ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THIS PARAGRAPH:
WRITING: WRITE A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS PARAGRAPH:
SECTION FIVE:
Since starting the youth culture magazine Student aged 15, Richard has found entrepreneurial ways to drive positive change in the world. In 2004 Richard established Virgin Unite, the non-profit foundation of the Virgin Group, which unites people and entrepreneurial ideas to create opportunities for a better world. Most of his time is now spent building businesses that will make a positive difference in the world and working with Virgin Unite and organizations it has incubated, such as The Elders, The B Team, and Ocean Unite.
QUESTION: ASK ME ONE QUESTION ABOUT THE CONTENT OF THIS PARAGRAPH:
WRITING: WRITE A SHORT SUMMARY OF THE INFORMATION IN THIS PARAGRAPH: