I am a 'God-botherer' and have difficulty seeing that this enterprise is somehow less worthy than taking 150+ would-be drunks and drug takers to Ibiza on a Friday night - something I, alas, do regularly.
Regarding Dave Mackay, he is a magnificent guy who I came across in the RAF. He is pleasant, intelligent, professional and humble. His background is that he was a Harrier pilot before becoming a Test Pilot in the RAF, where he flew numerous RAF and ther nations' fast jets. From memory, after a tour on Fixed Wing Test Sqn at Boscombe, he became an ETPS tutor. He eventually left and joined Virgin where he eventually became a senior captain. As an aside, he is also one of the senior pilots of the Shuttleworth Collection where he flies numerous old warbirds from Huricanes to Sopwith Camels. He has been involved with the Virgin Galactica program from the beginning and is about as well-qualified as you could wish for the job. He has done numerous other things not mentioned here and, frankly, his likely success is great news for UK PLC and could not happen to a better guy. Well done and the very best of luck.