I believe his relationship (Branson's) with Per Lindstrom may preclude him from joining with GTE. Lindstrands's company is involved in a similar project. High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) and was awarded a European Space Agency study programme to study the feasability in 1998. <A HREF="http://www.lindstrand.co.uk/projects.html" target="_blank">http://www.lindstrand.co.uk/projects.html</A> Having said that, It certainly would be a great move if Sir Chris could bring them all together to each's benefit somehow.