Branson Missouri is building a rocket and spacecraft to go into orbit and dock with ISS?
News to me!
Now, if you meant Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic...... SpaceShip Two was already in trouble before that inflight accident two years ago. Engine/propellant not able to produce enough total impulse to take tourists to the promised 100 kilometer altitude. 95 km maybe.... but 95 (not space) isn't 100 km ("space"), when the whole ride is sold as flying into "space".
They had a massive setback due to the accident, but still the pure rocket science issue remains unsolved AFAIK, for it to be able to make it to 100 KM with passengers.
And even if they solve that, it is a massively huge difference between making a 100 km / 62 mile vertical flight into "Space", at ZERO horizontal velocity, and getting into ORBIT with a horizontal velocity of about 17,500 mph, at 100 miles up or more.
Even moreso, to fly to the altitude of ISS and have the maneuvering and RCS capabilities to rendezvous and dock.
Hell, Space Ship Two is hand-flown, no computers used, which is one massive reason why that stupid accident happened..... a proper flight computer program would not have allowed the "feather" system to be activated at that phase of flight (Co-Pilot unlocked the feather system way early, when flying too fast in too-thick air at lower altitude. Hand-flying overloads both pilots to the point they have a LOT of crazy crap to deal with in seconds, amid the intense vibrations and roar of the hybrid rocket motor).
I think that Branson probably regrets ever getting into this. It's taken the shine off his other achievements. The accident probably guaranteed they'll never make a profit off of it, even if they fly everyone who signed on and paid (and did not ask for a refund), probably won't ever fly that many and then it'll be shut down as unprofitable after flying the backlog of customers (and this assumes no accidents).
I think Branson would be foolish to go beyond SpaceShip Two for any future "space ship" ventures. Maybe to save face, partner with someone like SpaceX* to launch a "Space hotel" into orbit for him ("hotel" built by someone like Bigelow Aerospace), and send up all those few dozens of people who could afford to go to it. But if he got into building a new rocket system on his own, he'd be pretty stupid not to have learned from all this.
- George Gassaway
* - SpaceX and Branson partner? Even the VAB does not have the volume to fit the egos of Musk and Branson under the same roof.....