Billionaires are a good thing.

Business Alert Jan. 17, 4:32 p.m. EST

Virgin Orbit sends a rocket into Earth orbit, becoming the newest entrant in the commercial space race The LauncherOne rocket was dropped from a 747 aircraft as it flew over the Pacific Ocean, marking a triumph for Richard Branson, the British billionaire who now has two companies that have reached space successfully with two different vehicles. Virgin Orbit hopes to compete in the growing business of launching small satellites to space. Read more