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Posted Thu 22 Jul, 2021 2:55 PM
To begin with:
I was reading an article by the excellent (in my opinion) Eric Berger about Bezos' recent flight.
I was excited about it for a few reasons:
1. Another private* space flight
2. The oldest person in space, and her trip was long overdue
3. The youngest person in space (paid for by hedge-fund father, but the kid is going to school to study physics and he seems to care about space)
4. I watched it with my kids, as I want them to be inspired by the idea of one day going to space themselves
And because I like lists, let me get my negativity about Jeff Bezos out of the way:
1. He really does come across as slimy and self-serving
2. He doesn't seem to be as dedicated to space, in comparison to the likes of Elon Musk (Sir Richard Branson has an interest but he's more the 'let's have fun and go to space today' kind of vibe)
3. If he really cared about humanity, he would fix the problems plaguing his company Amazon rather than to let the situation with his employees fester
4. I stopped watching the 'press conference' following the flight after about twenty minutes as Jeff was obviously using it as a platform for more self-aggrandizing talk
So in essence I'm a bit torn about the situation. I am glad to see more, non-traditionally trained space travelers get a chance to see the Earth from above the Karman Line. I want to see more private flights happen so that space-flight can eventually become routine, hopefully within my lifetime (more likely my kids will see that before me). I believe that we do need to become a space faring species so that we can learn more about the Universe we live in and apply new knowledge and sciences to help solve problems on Earth and to help colonize our solar system.
But we do have plenty of problems here that need fixing (no need to enumerate them here, we're all pretty aware of what they are). Even Shatner doesn't believe that humanity will reach a Star Trek-like utopia with our present state.
I'm not trying to start a "Billionaire's Space Club" debate but it is obvious that Musk is trying harder than the others on reaching beyond Earth for humanity. Yeah, he definitely has his social and neurotic problems (but how can you be a 'normal' billionaire?) but his conviction for space seems more genuine. I'm wondering if Bezos will lose interest if Blue Origin doesn't start making money since he already had his trip and he may not feel the need to keep it going. He has spoken numerous times in the past, and at his college graduation, that humanity needs to enter and stay in space in order to preserve the Earth. But now that he has 'been there, done that' will his billionaire lifestyle keep him interested in pursuing that goal?
* one could argue that Bezos' hunt for tax breaks and incentives might not make it a fully 'private' flight
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Posted Thu 22 Jul, 2021 3:53 PM
The biggest difference between Bezos and Musk is that at least Musk plays a fairly large role in the engineering side of SpaceX and actually knows what makes the rocket work.
Blue Origin strikes me as just another way for Bezos to make money and cash in on the space race, whereas at least SpaceX and other similar groups like Rocket Labs and ULA are trying to improve space travel for everyone.
The Falcon/Dragon system has revolutionised how space travel works I feel because it's no longer about throwing stuff away when you fly; there's now a way to reuse nearly the entire spacecraft and that's a big step for cost and sustainability.
Blue Origin just looks like a child's toy next to other rockets, and the whole going into space thing barely matters when all you're doing it flying in an arc that lasts maybe 5-10 mins at most. That sort of thing will be no use to any commercial satellite company, nor for actual transport.
Honestly; let the rich waste their money on daft things like Blue Origin or Virgin Galactic trips. The only down side is the money's not going to a serious space company and just ends up in Branson/Bezo's pockets.