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    Blinken to fly to Beijing for high-stakes diplomacy after spy balloon saga

    U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to visit Beijing in his first trip to China under the Biden administration.
    Little is expected to emerge from the talks themselves.
    But Blinken’s Beijing visit helps pave the way for additional meetings — including a potential one between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year.

    U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his plane for travel to Berlin at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, June 22, 2021.
    Andrew Harnik | Pool | Reuters

    BEIJING — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to travel to Beijing this weekend in his first trip to China under the Biden administration.
    Delayed by more than four months, Blinken’s trip marks a rare high-level meeting between the U.S. and China in a period of heightened tension.

    Little is expected to emerge from the talks themselves. But Blinken’s Beijing visit helps pave the way for additional meetings — including a potential one-to-one between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this year.
    Blinken’s Beijing trip is a “potential important turning point in the relationship,” Scott Kennedy, senior advisor and trustee chair in Chinese business and economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNBC.
    “Just simply strengthening communication is a reasonable goal,” he said. “If [both sides] announce the talks went well enough they can schedule additional cabinet-level meetings.”

    Communication and meetings between the U.S. and China have dried up in the last few years due to the pandemic and political tensions.
    The U.S. Department of State said Blinken is set to meet with “senior [People’s Republic of China] officials where he will discuss the importance of maintaining open lines of communication to responsibly manage the U.S.-PRC relationship.”

    Blinken “will also raise bilateral issues of concern, global and regional matters, and potential cooperation on shared transnational challenges,” department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
    China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the visit but did not provide details on specific meetings.
    Expectations for a significant recovery in the U.S.-China relationship, especially as a result of Blinken’s upcoming trip, remain low.
    “The objective is still to prevent the relationship from deteriorating further, rather than articulating and agreeing to a shared vision for a way ahead,” said Drew Thompson, a former U.S. Defense Department official and current visiting senior research fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.
    “The Biden administration’s rhetoric is we’ll compete, where we can; and cooperate, where we must,” Thompson said. “But China doesn’t see it that way. China sees the political elements of both competition and cooperation, and they’re not willing to cooperate if there’s still an element of competition or the U.S. is challenging it politically.”

    “And so I think that the administration’s goals are, at this point unrealistic because of the way Beijing has framed its interest in its strategy.”

    Growing tensions

    It’s been an intense few months geopolitically while the world waited for Blinken to reschedule his trip to China — and potentially help stabilize the relationship between the two economic powers.
    The U.S. in February shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon flying over U.S. airspace. Its appearance had forced Blinken to indefinitely postpone his Beijing trip at the time. Beijing insisted the balloon was an unnamed weather tracker that blew off course.
    Elsewhere, the CEO of TikTok, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, got grilled in U.S. Congress in March over security concerns. China’s Foreign Ministry said at the time that it “has never” and “will never” ask companies to go against local laws and provide data located abroad.
    “The US government has provided no evidence or proof that TikTok threatens U.S. national security, yet it has repeatedly suppressed and attacked the company based on the presumption of guilt,” the ministry said, according to a briefing transcript.
    And in May, China said U.S. chipmaker Micron had failed a security review and banned operators of critical infrastructure from buying from the company.
    “The relationship has not remained in a steady state since February,” Kennedy said. But he added that the mood in Washington, D.C., where he’s based, is “not as dark as it had been” in February and March.

    Taiwan tensions

    “The U.S. needs to honor its commitment to the ‘One China’ policy,” Jia Qingguo, a professor at Peking University, said Tuesday on the sidelines of the Caixin New Asia Vision conference in Singapore.
    “China also does not wish to see any accidents between both militaries,” Jia added.
    “It recognizes that even though there is a need to establish military guardrails between both countries, that is not enough. The two countries should also establish similar guardrails for diplomacy and economic relations to avoid confrontation. This will reduce reactive actions and reduce any possibility of accidents.”
    Among the many other points where the U.S. and China differ is the Russian war on Ukraine, which Beijing has refused to label an invasion, while calling for peace talks.

    Hopes for more U.S.-China meetings

    Still, the two sides remain each other’s largest trading partners in terms of goods.
    China’s Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met with his U.S. counterpart in Washington in May. And U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is expected to visit China at an unspecified date.
    Looking ahead, Xi could potentially visit the U.S. during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Summit — set to be held in San Francisco in November.
    Jia said expectations for any outcomes of Blinken’s upcoming meetings with the Chinese should not be too high, but that it was important he was going.
    “It’s not usual for two of the world’s great powers to rely on the highest levels of leadership to upkeep ties. It is actually quite risky.” Jia said. “Hence, it is important that both countries have more levels of exchange.”
    — CNBC’s Clement Tan contributed to this report. More

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    Justice Department to probe PGA Tour deal with Saudi-funded LIV Golf

    The Department of Justice’s antitrust division has informed the PGA Tour it will review the organization’s proposed merger with Saudi-funded LIV Golf, NBC News reported.
    News of the DOJ’s move came after Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon urged the federal agency to investigate the merger agreement.
    The PGA Tour’s once-adversarial relationship with LIV was already under scrutiny by federal prosecutors.

    PGA TOUR logo is seen during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines South on January 29, 2021 in San Diego, California.
    Ben Jared | Pga Tour | Getty Images

    The Department of Justice’s antitrust division has informed the PGA Tour it will review the organization’s proposed merger with Saudi-funded LIV Golf, a source told NBC News on Thursday.
    The Justice Department and LIV Golf declined to comment.

    In a statement to CNBC, the PGA Tour says, “We are confident that once all stakeholders learn more about how the PGA TOUR will lead this new venture, they will understand how it benefits our players, fans, and sport while protecting the American institution of golf.”
    A source with knowledge of the situation says that any interest by the DOJ would be an extension of the preexisting investigation, and would not be unusual for U.S. antitrust authorities to review a transaction of this profile. They also say a review does not suggest the transaction violates antitrust laws.
    The DOJ was already conducting an investigation into professional golf, in light of the litigation with LIV.
    The announcement of the deal last week immediately sparked antitrust concerns.
    This week, Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Ron Wyden of Oregon urged the DOJ to open a probe into the agreement. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., also opened a probe into the deal. Wyden launched his own investigation Thursday.

    The PGA Tour’s once-adversarial relationship with LIV was already under scrutiny by federal prosecutors who last year started investigating whether the PGA Tour had engaged in anticompetitive behavior.
    LIV, which is backed by the so-called Public Investment Fund controlled by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, divided the pro golf world when it emerged as a rival to the PGA Tour.
    The upstart league’s links to the kingdom, with its sordid record on human rights, triggered a swarm of controversy. But with the help of a reported $2 billion investment from the crown prince’s fund, LIV dangled massive prizes and perks and managed to lure high-profile golfers to play in its tournaments.
    Former President Donald Trump hosted a LIV tournament at his New Jersey golf club last summer, stoking outrage from the kingdom’s critics — including families and survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
    The PGA Tour and LIV Golf had locked horns in and out of court, and PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has openly criticized the rival league, making the announcement of their proposed merger all the more surprising. The announcement last week noted the tie-up would prompt a mutual end to all pending litigation.
    If the merger goes through, the two entities will combine their businesses and rights into a new for-profit company. The PGA Tour policy board will have to approve the agreement, Monahan told players in a memo.
    The PGA Tour revealed Tuesday that Monahan is currently recovering from an unspecified medical matter and is taking a leave of absence. More

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    ‘Is this real?’ JPMorgan court filing shows Frank employees questioned stats before acquisition

    Employees of a startup purchased by JPMorgan Chase expressed disbelief when the company’s founder directed them to boost their customer count ahead of the acquisition, according to internal messages released Thursday in a legal filing.
    The founder, Charlie Javice, instructed employees to change “public-facing numbers” of college aid platform Frank to 4.25 million customers in January 2021, JPMorgan alleged in the filing.
    “Do we really have 4.25M students?” one Frank employee asked in a January 2021 Slack thread.

    Charlie Javice, who is charged with defrauding JPMorgan Chase & Co into buying her now-shuttered college financial aid startup Frank for $175 million in 2021, arrives at United States Court in Manhattan in New York City, June 6, 2023.
    Mike Segar | Reuters

    Employees of a startup purchased by JPMorgan Chase expressed disbelief when the company’s founder directed them to boost their customer count ahead of the acquisition, according to internal messages released Thursday in a legal filing.
    The founder, Charlie Javice, instructed employees to change “public-facing numbers” of college aid platform Frank to 4.25 million customers in January 2021, JPMorgan alleged in the filing. Frank had fewer than 300,000 real customers when JPMorgan bought it in September 2021, the bank has alleged.

    “Do we really have 4.25M students?” one Frank employee asked in a January 2021 Slack thread.
    “Is this real?” another asked.
    “Charlie is king of finding magic numbers,” wrote another employee, whose names were redacted in the filing.
    The release of private staff messages is part of the latest salvo in the legal dispute between Javice and JPMorgan, which paid $175 million for the startup. JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets and a steady acquirer of fintech startups, sued Javice in December 2022, alleging that the founder had lied about her company’s scale to close the deal.
    According to Thursday’s filing, Javice justified the change in user stats by telling employees that website visitors counted as customers, the bank alleged.

    In its original suit, JPMorgan alleged that Javice hired a data science professor to concoct fake accounts after an employee refused to do so.
    Javice’s problems have intensified in recent weeks. In April, the startup founder was criminally charged by the Department of Justice and sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, both which accused her of fraud related to the company sale.
    Javice has said in court filings that JPMorgan knew how many users Frank had and that the bank sought to blame her for its mistakes.
    A lawyer for Javice didn’t immediately respond to messages left late Thursday. More

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    FDA advisors recommend that new Covid vaccines target an omicron XBB variant this fall

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s independent panel of advisors recommended that updated Covid shots for the fall and winter target one of the XBB variants, which are now the dominant strains of the virus nationwide. 
    Advisors also generally agreed that the new shots should specifically target a variant called XBB.1.5.
    The panel’s recommendation is a win for vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax, all of which have been developing versions of their respective shots targeting XBB coronavirus variants.
    The FDA typically follows the advice of its advisory committees but is not required to do so.

    A woman receives a booster dose of the Moderna coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a vaccination centre in Antwerp, Belgium, February 1, 2022.
    Johanna Geron | Reuters

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s independent panel of advisors on Thursday recommended that updated Covid shots for the fall and winter target one of the XBB variants, which are now the dominant strains of the virus nationwide. 
    The committee unanimously voted that the new jabs should be monovalent — meaning they are designed to protect against one variant of Covid — and target a member of the XBB family.

    Those strains of Covid are descendants of the omicron variant, which caused cases to surge to record levels early last year. They are some of the most immune-evasive strains to date.
    Advisors also generally agreed that the new shots should specifically target a variant called XBB.1.5. The panel only discussed that specific strain selection and did not vote on the matter.
    XBB.1.5 accounted for nearly 40% of all Covid cases in the U.S. as of early June, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That proportion is slowly declining, and cases of the related XBB.1.16 and XBB.2.3 variants are on the rise. 
    Advisors noted that XBB.1.5 appears most ideal for the fall since vaccine manufacturers Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax have already started to develop jabs targeting the strain.
    “The 1.5 looks good. It seems like it’s the most feasible to get across the finish line early without resulting in delays and availability,” said Dr. Melinda Wharton, a senior official at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “The vaccine we can use is the vaccine that we can get. And so it feels like this would be a good choice.”

    The FDA typically follows the advice of its advisory committees, but is not required to do so. It’s unclear when the agency will make a final decision on strain selection.
    There is also uncertainty about which age groups the FDA and CDC will advise to receive the updated shots this fall.
    But the panel’s recommendation is already a win for Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax — all of which have been conducting early trials on their respective XBB.1.5 shots ahead of the meeting.
    “Novavax expects to be ready for the commercial delivery of a protein-based monovalent XBB COVID vaccine this fall in line with today’s [advisory committee] recommendation,” said John Jacobs, the company’s president and CEO.
    The U.S. is expected to shift vaccine distribution to the private sector this fall. That means the vaccine makers will start selling their new Covid products directly to health-care providers and vie for commercial market share. 
    The panel’s recommendation coincides with a broader shift in how the pandemic impacts the country and the world at large. 
    Covid cases and deaths have dropped to new lows, governments have rolled back stringent health mandates like masking and social distancing and many people believe the pandemic is over altogether.  
    But Dr. Peter Marks, head of the FDA’s vaccine division, said the agency is concerned that the U.S. will have another Covid wave “during a time when the virus has further evolved, immunity of the population has waned further and we move indoors for wintertime.”
    Updated Covid vaccines that are periodically updated to target a high circulating variant will restore protective immunity against the virus, said Dr. David Kaslow, a senior official in the FDA’s vaccine division. 
    It’s a similar approach to how the strains are selected for the annual flu shot. Researchers assess strains of the virus in circulation and estimate which will be the most prevalent during the upcoming fall and winter.
    But it’s unclear how many Americans will roll up their sleeves to take the updated shots later this year. 
    Only about 17% of the U.S. population — around 56 million people —have received Pfizer and Moderna’s boosters since they were approved in September, according to the CDC.
    More than 40% of adults 65 and older have been boosted with those shots, while the rate among younger adults and children ranges between 18% and 20%.
    Those boosters were bivalent, meaning they targeted the original strain of Covid and the omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5. 

    Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax shot data

    During the meeting, Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax presented preliminary data on updated versions of their shots designed to target XBB variants. 
    Moderna has been evaluating shots targeting XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16 — another transmissible omicron descendant, according to Rituparna Das, the company’s vice president of Covid vaccines. 
    Preclinical trial data on mice suggests that a monovalent vaccine targeting XBB.1.5 produces a more robust immune response against the currently circulating XBB variants than the authorized bivalent shot targeting BA.4 and BA.5, according to Das. 
    She added that clinical trial data on more than 100 people similarly demonstrates that the monovalent XBB.1.5 vaccine produces protective antibodies against all XBB variants. All trial participants had previously received four Covid vaccine doses.
    Das said that comprehensive protection against XBB strains is likely due to the fewer unique mutations between the variants, which means their composition is similar.
    There are only three unique mutations between the variants XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16, according to Darin Edwards, Moderna’s Covid vaccine program leader. By comparison, there are 28 mutations between omicron BA.4 and BA.5.
    That means the immune response an updated shot produces against XBB variants will likely be similar, regardless of which specific variant it targets, Edwards said.
    Pfizer also presented early trial data indicating that a monovalent vaccine targeting an XBB variant offers improved immune responses against the XBB family. 
    The company provided specific timelines for delivering an updated vaccine, depending on the strain the FDA selects. 
    Pfizer will be able to deliver a monovalent shot targeting XBB.1.5 by July and a jab targeting XBB.1.16 by August, according to Kena Swanson, the company’s senior principal scientist.
    Pfizer won’t be able to distribute a new shot until October if the FDA chooses a completely different strain, Swanson said.
    Novavax did not provide a specific timeline for delivering a shot targeting XBB.1.5, but noted that an XBB.1.16 shot would take eight weeks longer.
    Novavax unveiled preclinical trial data indicating that monovalent vaccines targeting XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16 induce higher immune responses to XBB subvariants than bivalent vaccines do. 
    Data also demonstrates that an XBB.1.5 shot produces antibodies that block XBB.2.3 from binding to and infecting human cells, according to Dr. Filip Dubovsky, Novavax’s chief medical officer.
    Dubovsky said the trial results support the use of a monovalent XBB.1.5 shot in the fall.
    Novavax’s jab uses protein-based technology, a decades-old method for fighting viruses used in routine vaccinations against hepatitis B and shingles.
    The vaccine works differently than Pfizer’s and Moderna’s messenger RNA vaccines but achieves the same outcome: teaching your body how to fight Covid. More

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    Bank of America makes $500 million equity push for minority- and women-led funds

    Bank of America has committed to giving more than $500 million in equity investments to minority- and women-led fund managers to support diverse entrepreneurs.
    More than 60% of the fund managers who can pull from the equity pool are led by women.
    So far, more than 150 funds have used the equity to invest in upward of 1,000 companies.

    A Bank of America branch in New York’s Times Square.
    Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images

    Bank of America has committed to giving more than $500 million in equity investments to minority- and women-led fund managers to support diverse entrepreneurs, the bank announced Thursday in a press release. 
    More than 60% of the fund managers who can pull from the equity pool are led by women, more than 65% are led by Black individuals, more than 20% by Hispanics and Latinos and more than 15% are led by Asians, said Tram Nguyen, global head of strategic and sustainable investments at Bank of America.

    The program started in 2020 and so far, more than 150 funds have used the equity to invest in upward of 1,000 companies, collectively controlling $7 billion of capital, Bank of America said. This translates to support for 1,500 diverse entrepreneurs and the employment of more than 21,000 people.
    “We work across our company to address critical needs in our communities, including the lack of access to capital that diverse business owners face as they start or grow their businesses,” Nguyen said in a news release.
    In 2023 so far, ventures led or founded by Black or Asian individuals typically received approximately 0.9% of venture capital funding, while businesses led by Hispanic and Latino individuals received roughly 0.94%, according to data from Crunchbase.
    Total VC dollars put into companies last year dropped 36%, affected by the rise in inflation and interest rates, and Black-owned businesses saw a 45% drop, CNBC’s Gabrielle Fonrouge reported in February.
    Bank of America is also separately working with the National Football League and National Black Bank Foundation to support Black- and minority-owned banks, CNBC’s Frank Holland reported.
    “We’re very focused on supporting our fund managers,” Nguyen said. “We’re building a community, connecting them with our company and its vast network and resources, connecting them with each other and the broader investment community.” More

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    Disney finance chief Christine McCarthy to step down as Iger reshapes the company

    Christine McCarthy will step down as Disney’s chief financial officer.
    She is taking family medical leave and will advise the company as it seeks a successor.
    McCarthy’s departure comes as the Disney undergoes a broad restructuring during Bob Iger’s second tenure as CEO.

    The Walt Disney Company’s Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy participates in a panel discussion during the annual Milken Institute Global Conference at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, April 29, 2019.
    Michael Kovac | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

    Christine McCarthy, Disney’s chief financial officer, will step down from that role, the entertainment giant said Thursday.
    She will take a family medical leave of absence, and during that time, she will continue as a strategic advisor to Disney, the company said. McCarthy will also help find a long-term successor, Disney added. Veteran Disney executive Kevin Lansberry, who currently works as finance chief for Disney’s parks business, will become the company’s interim CFO effective July 1.

    “I am immensely grateful for the opportunity Bob provided me to serve as CFO of this iconic company and am proud of the work my talented team has done to position Disney to capitalize on the business possibilities that lie ahead,” McCarthy said in the news release announcing her departure.
    McCarthy, who started with Disney in 2000 and became CFO in 2015, leaves as Disney undergoes a broad restructuring during Bob Iger’s second tenure as CEO. The company has targeted 7,000 job cuts during several rounds of layoffs this year.
    Disney has also contended with a tougher ad market for media companies and struggled to set itself apart in a crowded streaming space. In its fiscal second quarter, Disney reported operating losses of $659 million for its direct-to-consumer segment.
    During McCarthy’s tenure, Disney’s streaming spending skyrocketed, and free cash flow fell. For a while, that was fine. Disney’s stock got a bump as the number of Disney+ subscribers soared. But when the balloon popped on streaming valuations in 2022, she needed to change strategies. That is still a work in progress.
    McCarthy also emerged as a pivotal figure during last year’s upheaval at Disney, which saw Iger return to replace his successor as CEO, Bob Chapek. During Chapek’s tenure, she moved toward his inner circle, only to reportedly turn on him, which proved to be the final straw for the former chief executive.

    But Iger has loyalists at that company, and McCarthy’s move toward Chapek showed she wasn’t in that camp. So, she never had the same status internally as being trusted by Iger as others, according to people familiar with the matter.
    Iger struck a positive tone about McCarthy in Thursday’s announcement, however.
    “Among her many contributions to the company, one of the things I admire most about Christine is the generous mentorship she has provided to so many of her colleagues over the years, including countless women,” Iger said in the news release. “She has opened doors, created opportunities, and served as a role model for women at every level of business — not just at Disney, but around the world.” More

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    Retired ISS commander Peggy Whitson talks recent Axiom mission, making space accessible

    Peggy Whitson is America’s most experienced astronaut, having spent 675 days in space. She’s just returned from her fourth flight to orbit. 
    Axiom Space recently completed its second human spaceflight mission traveling to and from the International Space Station via a SpaceX Dragon Capsule.

    Axiom Mission 2 mission specialist Rayyanah Barnawi, of Saudi Arabia (L), and commander and former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, of the United States, make a heart-shape with their hands towards family members, as they arrive at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 21, 2023.
    Gregg Newton | AFP | Getty Images

    Peggy Whitson is America’s most experienced astronaut, having spent 675 days in space. She’s just returned from her fourth flight to orbit. 
    Axiom Space recently completed its second human spaceflight mission traveling to and from the International Space Station via a SpaceX Dragon Capsule. Whitson, now Axiom’s director of human spaceflight, served as Ax-2’s mission commander. 

    CNBC’s “Manifest Space” podcast sat down with the retired NASA astronaut to discuss her return to space, the commercialization of human spaceflight and her outlook on the private space economy.  
    The following has been edited for length and clarity.

    Follow and listen to CNBC’s “Manifest Space” podcast, hosted by Morgan Brennan, wherever you get your podcasts.

    Let’s talk about the mission, what you accomplished, and what it was like to do this as a private astronaut? 
    Of course, I’d love to go into space. It’s like my second home. I wanted to go but being a part of this changing era of space is really exciting to me. And that’s what made this flight special for me. And I like to think of it as we are changing the evolution of the idea that humanity belongs in space. And, and we have a purpose to be there. So that’s, to me, that’s changing a bit from where I’ve come from in the past.  
    You’re back at the space station, you’re somebody who’s commanded the space station, you’ve been there multiple times before. What was that like to return as, for lack of better terms, a visitor? 

    It was a different perspective for me. I did have the unique experience though. This was the first time I commanded the launching vehicle. So that was a novel part of the experience. And a part of being a NASA astronaut, I had many experiences where we trade responsibilities in command. And so this was just another aspect of that. The station commander had the lead there on the station and on the Dragon, I had the lead. So it’s just an interesting shifting roles and responsibilities depending on where you are. But it was great to be back up there and see the place. Some things were in the same place as they were when I left. … Even some of the bags were labeled by my handwriting.
    You’ve ridden on multiple spacecraft and rockets now. What was it like to work with SpaceX? And what was it like to fly in Dragon and be launched from a Falcon 9 versus Soyuz or versus Space Shuttle? 
    On the Dragon, I loved the crew interfaces and displays because they integrated data and procedures together and it just made it very easy for my user perspective to really know what was going on, what was happening, and to stay in tune with the vehicle. So it was very exciting. The landing on water was definitely better than landing on the ground. A lot less rolling around.  
    How quickly do you think human spaceflight becomes more common, more commercial, and more accessible? 
    I think access is going to increase for lots of countries and individuals. But I also think, as we begin developing the commercial aspects of the station, it will also bring in other companies who want to develop products, for instance, pharmaceuticals or other things, onboard a commercial space station, and so I’m excited about that future. Because of Axiom — and NASA’s design to have our station initially joined to the ISS and then constructed from there and depart before the ISS is deorbited in 2030 — [that] allows us an opportunity to have a really good proving ground and to open up that access a little bit earlier.  
    Will you be doing more of these spaceflights? 
    Oh, I certainly hope so. 
    How involved are you in input around the development of these commercial space stations? Or in terms of training around future teams that are going to go on these missions? What does your day-to-day look like working with this space startup? 
    One of the most fun things for me is talking to these young, innovative engineers. We have a really cool mix of people who’ve worked on this station and … know what things not to do again. [They have] these new, new innovative ideas coming out, and I get to talk to these young people and say, ‘OK, that’s a good idea, that that one will work in space. This one, you’re gonna have to work on that because it’s just not practical in space for this reason, that reason.’ I get to use my experience to help them design and fine-tune without having to do all the research on their own. It is exciting for me. Also, one of the things that I like to do and one of the things I developed while working at NASA was expeditionary crew skills. So, the soft skills that are used by crew members and interacting with each other. Like teamwork, leadership, followership, self-care, team care, those things are all important aspects of the mission, especially when you’re living in a small, confined space or, you know, away from your families, etc.
    Your career has been incredible. Did you always think you’d be an astronaut?  
    Well, it was kind of a long path for me. I was 9 years old when Neil Armstrong took his first step on the moon and you know, even at 9 I felt that was very inspirational. And that’s why I hope we are inspiring those young minds that same age, because for me, it’s stuck. And although I was a farm kid and a farm girl, I didn’t really know if that would ever be an option for me. But that’s what my dream was. And it wasn’t until I graduated high school and NASA selected the first female astronauts that I really felt like, hey, this, this is possible, I can do this. And two of the astronauts had medical degrees and another had a biochemistry degree. And I was very interested in biochemistry myself. And so I thought this might really be able to be possible. Luckily, I had no idea how hard it [would] be. But I set my path, I got an undergraduate and graduate degrees and started working at NASA. Of course, as soon as I got my graduate degree, I applied to work to be an astronaut. For 10 years I applied and was rejected. And I always like to tell young people that sometimes your path isn’t always a straight line to getting to your goal. During those 10 years, I can look back now and say that those were the 10 years that enabled me to get the training I needed to be selected as the first female commander, and to be selected as the first female and non-military chief of the astronaut office. It was those 10 years that enabled that. And so, in the end, I got even more than what I ever dreamed of. 
    What’s the coolest thing about being in space? Is it a spacewalk? 
    Definitely the coolest task in space is going on a spacewalks. It’s you’re out in the spacesuit, it’s basically a little spaceship built for one. That was pretty amazing. I was on a spacewalk. It was my first one in the U.S. suit. I had done one EVA [extravehicular activity] in the Russian suit on my first flight. But on my second flight, I did a spacewalk. And I had pulled out a box — it was a baseband signal processor, but it needed to be changed out, and I pulled it out. And then at the back of that was a reflective thermal insulation thing, but it was like mirror reflective. And I saw myself in a spacesuit. And I saw solar arrays and the earth behind me and I’m like, I’m an “astronaut!” It was very special. 
    When you do another spaceflight, what is your dream crew? Are there certain people that you would love to travel with to space? Could be anybody. 
    I think, you know, flying up with three rookies was a lot of fun, because it allowed me to re-experience the first time again. I would pick anybody that wanted to be part of a team, because to me that’s what makes the crews special is the people trying to be part of a team. And so I would want people that wanted to make and build that. 

    “Manifest Space,” hosted by CNBC’s Morgan Brennan, focuses on the billionaires and brains behind the ever-expanding opportunities beyond our atmosphere. Brennan holds conversations with the mega moguls, industry leaders and startups in today’s satellite, space and defense industries. In “Manifest Space,” sit back, relax and prepare for liftoff. More

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    Virgin Galactic sets first commercial space tourism flight for this month; shares spike more than 40%

    The company on Thursday said the flight is targeting a launch window that opens June 27 and runs to June 30.
    Shares spiked more than 40%
    It then plans for a second commercial flight to follow in “early August,” with “monthly” commercial flights after that.
    The company, which was founded by billionaire Richard Branson, completed its final test spaceflight in May.

    Spacecraft VSS Unity fires its engine during the Unity 25 spaceflight, May 25, 2023.
    Virgin Galactic

    Virgin Galactic aims to launch its commercial space tourism service in late June.
    Shares of the company spiked more than 40% in extended trading Thursday.

    Virgin Galactic on Thursday said the flight, called Galactic 01, is targeting a launch window that opens June 27 and runs to June 30. Virgin Galactic then plans for its second commercial flight to follow in “early August,” with “monthly” commercial flights after that.
    Galactic 01 will carry three members of the Italian Air Force to conduct microgravity research with science payloads.

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    The company completed its final test spaceflight in May and said Thursday that it completed “routine analysis and vehicle inspections” of its carrier aircraft VMS Eve and spacecraft VSS Unity.
    Virgin Galactic’s first commercial spaceflight has been a long-awaited milestone for the company to begin flying its backlog of about 800 passengers. The company was founded in 2004 by billionaire Richard Branson. The June launch will also begin moving Virgin Galactic toward showing it can fly commercial flights regularly, which is crucial to its long-term success.
    “We are launching the first commercial spaceline for Earth with two dynamic products — our scientific research and private astronaut space missions,” Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said in a statement. More