Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson are billionaires who have decided to put a large amount of their fortune to pursue their dreams of space travel, creating a space race.
So who will really win in this “rich man” race? The answer depends on how you look at the problem because the space companies they founded all have different goals and visions.
The media calls Bezos, Branson, and Musk the three space tycoons because of their similarities: They all made their fortunes in various industries before setting foot on extraterrestrial projects.
In which, Musk has business in the field of online payments and electric cars, Bezos with e-commerce platform Amazon and Branson with business empire branded Virgin.
Now, they are the most prominent faces in the space race of the 21st century.
Of course, they are not the only players in this game because next to them are hundreds of startups in the space field around the world. Even so, Musk’s SpaceX, Bezos’ Blue Origin and Branson’s Virgin still benefit greatly from partnerships with NASA and the US military.
Elon Musk
If there was a race going on, many space fans would vote SpaceX as the leader. Founded in 2002, until now, SpaceX has successfully built rockets capable of sending satellites and cargo into space, winning many major contracts from NASA and the US government.
In addition, Musk’s company has succeeded in developing a spacecraft to carry astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). At the moment, SpaceX is working on building a spacecraft to send people to the Moon and Mars.
Meanwhile, neither Branson nor Bezos’ companies have put astronauts into orbit, but only flew to the edge of space, about 100km above the Earth’s surface.
There’s no denying that SpaceX has regularly pioneered commercial space by breaking records, making history, and accomplishing what industry experts once deemed impossible. SpaceX is said to have almost single-handedly disrupted the rocket industry, which was considered rather stagnant and somewhat uninteresting a few decades ago.
However, Musk is the only one of the three billionaires who has not traveled to space. Both Bezos and Branson have had successful flights. To date, Musk’s most notable statement on the matter is that he wants to “die on Mars.”
Jeff Bezos
Bezos is a billionaire who doesn’t want to rush into production and make rockets part of his brand. He founded Blue Origin in 2000 – six years after founding Amazon.
For many years, Blue Origin operated almost in total secrecy. But now, its goal is quite clear: Bezos – the richest man in the world, eventually wants to send people to live and work in space to prolong life after the Earth falls into a drought crisis. future energy scarcity.
In addition, he founded Blue Origin to develop rocket and spacecraft technologies at a lower cost. The company planned to build a lunar lander, working with NASA and a number of other partners to establish a base on the Moon.
New Shepard – Blue Origin’s fully autonomous, reusable rocket – is believed to be the first step in creating Moon lander technology. SpaceX is planning to develop the New Shepard ship for the business of space tourism in orbit, selling tickets to wealthy people who want to experience thrills.
More ambitiously, Blue Orogin also researched technology to develop the New Glenn ship – a rocket as big and powerful as SpaceX’s Heavy Falcon, to send people and goods to space.
However, in this race, SpaceX has a big advantage when it wins a number of lucrative US government contracts to finance such projects, including the Moon lander contract. In addition, Amazon has also announced plans to create an internet-connected constellation of satellites, like SpaceX’s Starlink.
Richard Branson
Recently, the rivalry between Branson and Bezos has come to the fore. Branson’s Virgin Galactic was founded with a business plan akin to Bezos’ Blue Origin: sending customers flying to the edge of space. However, Virgin Galactic’s technology is not the same as Blue Origin.
Jeff Bezos (left) and Richard Branson (Image: Internet).
In the battle between Branson and Bezos, Branson has the right to boast that his company has sent humans to space in test flights while every Blue Origin test flight to date has not carried any. Which astronaut?
Not to mention, Branson has also put rockets into orbit – something that requires far greater rocket speed and power than suborbital flights.
Branson’s rocket carried the first batch of satellites into orbit last January. While the rocket isn’t as powerful as Musk’s Falcon 9 or Bezos’ New Glenn, Branson’s company is seen as the space industry leader in the race to develop rockets specifically designed to deliver space rockets. small satellite into space.
Virgin Galactic also has some bold long-term visions, including the creation of a supersonic, high-speed suborbital jet that will be able to ferry people between cities at lightning speed. face.
In short: All three billionaires have ambitions in space and all aim to develop so that the private sector can send satellites, people or goods into space faster and cheaper.