For years, Amazon entity Blue Origin has pushed the limits with space travel. Founded in 2000, they have successfully launched two ships. Now they’re ready to take on the ultimate in space travel.
Yesterday, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced Blue Origin will be ready to send humans into space in 2017. He stated thousands have expressed interest and even willing to shell out big bucks for this space trip. The trips would be on a suborbital craft. He’s investing billions of dollars and using over 600 employees and a former Boeing facility in Greater Seattle to make this dream a reality. Some money can be made in selling tickets to go outer space. Nobody is saying how much these tickets will be. They’re not even taking down payments yet. The real money maker should come selling rocket engines to launch satellites and spaceships. A company called United Launch Alliance has already contracted Blue Origin’s services. They want Blue Origin to build them engines so they can be less dependent on Russia. Bezos is deeply involved in the project, as he’s been obsessed with space travel since he was a small child. Other companies, like Elon Musk’s Space X and Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic?, are racing to put civilians in space.
But Jeff Bezos doesn’t seem worried about competition. And he shouldn’t be. Travel in space is a fascination with many people. Some have paid over $200,000 to travel in space. In some cases, applications for space travel have filled up quickly. So there’s plenty of competition to go around. This is a good thing. This will keep prices down, quality up and these guys accountable. While it’s good to have hands on experience with this project, Bezos should realize these are experts in the space craft. Will he get humans into space in 2017? Who will win the race of civilian space travel?