Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are launching two of the world’s largest rockets into orbit inside days of one another. Some see these as efforts to construct their legacies and promote their visions for humanity.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Early this morning, a brand new rocket constructed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos took flight.
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MARTIN: And later in the present day, a brand new rocket constructed by Elon Musk can be scheduled to launch. NPR’s Geoff Brumfiel has been following this billionaire house race, and he is with us now to inform us extra about it. Good morning, Geoff.
GEOFF BRUMFIEL, BYLINE: Good morning.
MARTIN: So Bezos and Musk are two of the richest males on the planet, each launching their rockets across the similar time. That is sort of curious.
BRUMFIEL: That is the period we’re dwelling in. We have got so many billionaires with a lot cash they will launch rockets on the identical day. However it’s only a coincidence.
MARTIN: So inform us a little bit bit about these rockets.
BRUMFIEL: Positive. So, Elon Musk, let’s begin with him. His firm’s referred to as SpaceX, and so they’ve constructed a rocket referred to as Starship. It’s the tallest rocket ever constructed. It is a big chrome steel beast. New Glenn is the identify of the rocket constructed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ firm, Blue Origin. And it is also very tall, nevertheless it’s a little bit bit wider to accommodate giant satellites. So that they’re each huge rockets.
MARTIN: And inform us extra about why they’re doing this. What is the aim right here?
BRUMFIEL: Effectively, it isn’t nearly cash, not utterly, as a result of these rockets are costing billions to develop, and globally, the launch market is simply round $10 billion a 12 months, which actually is not all that a lot. I spoke to Carissa Christensen. She’s CEO of BryceTech, which analyzes the rocket enterprise, and she or he says that is largely about these two guys’ legacies and their visions for humanity.
CARISSA CHRISTENSEN: Jeff Bezos talks about colonies orbiting the Earth, and Elon Musk, after all, talks about Mars as a vacation spot.
BRUMFIEL: You recognize, Musk based SpaceX with a mission to go to Mars and take the primary individuals there.
MARTIN: What’s at stake with in the present day’s launches? Let’s begin with Bezos and Blue Origin.
BRUMFIEL: Yeah. So this was the very first launch of their rocket referred to as New Glenn. It is taken a very long time to develop, and Blue Origin had loads driving on it. Earlier than the launch, I spoke to Scott Manley. He is a preferred YouTuber who carefully tracks the house enterprise, and he advised me this rocket needed to fly proper on the very first strive.0
SCOTT MANLEY: They spent all this time doing all of the groundwork, doing all their homework earlier than launch. They should get into orbit on their first launch to be taken severely.
BRUMFIEL: In order that occurred, though the booster rocket failed to come back again and land on a barge within the Atlantic the place it was purported to. However the rocket was referred to as So You are Telling Me There is a Likelihood, in order that they sort of knew they may not nail it.
MARTIN: OK, and what about Elon Musk’s SpaceX?
BRUMFIEL: Sure. For Starship, that is going to be the seventh launch, and so they’ve been making regular progress in its growth, nevertheless it’s received a protracted option to go earlier than it could actually get to Mars. One essential factor they will be attempting to do is launch some satellites on this mission. Manley says that is actually essential as a result of SpaceX runs a satellite tv for pc web firm referred to as Starlink. And if Starship can launch Starlink satellites, it’s going to assist offset its growth prices.
MANLEY: They will really begin launching actual {hardware} with Starship. It’s going to begin paying again the funding cash they placed on it.
MARTIN: OK, we have got a few seconds right here. President Trump will probably be sworn into workplace in only a few days. How is his administration going to play into this billionaire house race?
BRUMFIEL: Effectively, he is received one other billionaire lined as much as run NASA, a man named Jared Isaacman. Now Isaacman is an investor in SpaceX, and he is additionally flown to house twice on a SpaceX capsule. So what I believe we will say is that these billionaires are actually poised to be those who determine what’s taking place on the ultimate frontier, no less than for the following few years.
MARTIN: That’s NPR’s Geoff Brumfiel. Geoff, thanks.
BRUMFIEL: Thanks.
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