Billionaires in SPACE....
This isn't NASA- This is business- Part 1
It may not have been the moon landing, but this month will be remembered for the two billionaires who went to space (the edge of space) in vehicles they paid for. All the hoopla, the debate about where space starts, does it matter who gets there first, were lumped together. But these are two very different spacecraft and Sir Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos are in very different businesses. Make no mistake-this is business. That was crystal clear if you watched the coverage.
Photo Credit: Blue Origin
First, a disclaimer- all three of the Space Barons (including Elon Musk of SpaceX) talk about getting more of humanity into space for the “overview effect.” Space passengers/astronauts can see the curvature of the planet, the earth’s thin atmosphere. Astronauts, including some who went to the moon, say the view changed the way they see earth. No borders, just a small fragile island of blue in the darkness of space that needs to be protected.
Photo Credit: Virgin Galactic
SPACE SHOW
That said, both companies, Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Bezos’s Blue Origin, put on their own “shows.” The Virgin webcast was filled with video features. The company didn’t even show a live picture of the mother ship carrying the spaceship take off from the New Mexico desert. But we did get to see Branson riding a bike to his spaceport (more on that in part 2). The launches were breakthrough moments for the two companies working just shy of a couple of decades to get to the edge of space. But the flights were marketing vehicles.
Photo Credit: Virgin Galactic
The “host” of the Virgin Galactic program was The Late Show’s Stephen Colbert. “Host,” I say, because it appeared Colbert taped several bits that were sprinkled into the webcast. But it was Colbert who made it clear, with comedy, the goal of Branson’s flight. When he returned to The Late Show after the “Virgin Galactic show” Colbert jabbed the company and Branson calling the flight “one big commercial for Virgin Galactic.”
(The Late Show-CBS)
MARKETING
Blue Origin was not bashful either. As its spacecraft was just minutes away from takeoff, and again after landing, the pitch was made by an employee-webcast host- “if you want to ride, email us here.”
Photo Credit: Blue Origin
This commercialization of space started back in the early 2000s by the U.S. government, championed by President Barack Obama and those who have followed. We are now in the barnstorming days. In the 1920s, pilots and stunt crews would come to town, put on a show, and sell rides in their bi-planes. It was a first for passengers, getting a chance to leave the bounds of terra firma and look down on earth for a fee. The hope of Branson, Bezos, and others is that flying to space will be the same. But right now that fee appears to be at least $250,000.
Photo Credit: EAA.org
DIFFERENT BUSINESS MODELS
While both Branson and Bezos are offering rides now, that is about the end of the similarities of their businesses. Branson is selling a “thrill ride” with his space plane. If costs could be reduced, it could conceivably be used for hopping across the planet. But will it be cheaper than supersonic aircraft currently on the drawing board? Branson is not looking to put people into orbit. His other company, Virgin Orbit, is putting satellites into space. Branson is not developing a capsule or craft capable of getting to orbit.
Bezos, on the other hand, is using these tourist flights to perfect technology for reaching orbit, the moon, and possibly beyond. His real competitor is not Branson, but Musk and SpaceX.
NASA has helped fund some of the projects of these Space Barons. Why, and who is running the show? That’s the next newsletter.