Between Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, who will succeed in ‘colonizing’ space first?
Fortunately, we live in a time when human beings are racing to space.
The world's two richest entrepreneurs, Bezos and Musk are trying to bring humans into space.
Don't get me wrong, humans have been to the Moon or the International Space Station (ISS) but that only involves astronauts who have been training for months and even years.
But Bezos and Musk have a dream to bring all human beings regardless of rank to outer space, as long as you have a lot of money to pay for their services.
Musk and Bezos have different motives for their dream of ‘colonizing’ outer space.
Musk believes humans are at risk of extinction due to climate change, threats from artificial intelligence (AI) technology or Earth being attacked.
He believes humans will be safe if they live on several other planets. Because of that, Musk wanted to colonize Mars.
Another story with Bezos. He believes the Earth is irreplaceable and wants to preserve and develop the planet for future generations.
Therefore, he wants to conquer outer space to get unlimited resources and energy. Moreover the source of raw materials available on the Moon.
The Blue Origin company developed by Bezos considers them like turtles in the fairy tale of a rabbit racing with a tortoise.
They described ‘the main character needs to lose first before making it to the finish line’.
In May last year, Musk's SpaceX became the first private company to send humans into orbit by flying two astronauts of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) into the ISS.
On the other hand, Blue Origin has not yet launched a rocket into orbit, let alone sent humans.
To ensure that their ambitions come true, the cost of each rocket launch must be reduced.
Normally, a rocket that has been launched can no longer be used.
Their focus right now is to figure out how to make sure their invention rockets can be used repeatedly.
In December 2015, SpaceX successfully landed the Falcon 9 Booster back to Earth. That was the biggest success for SpaceX.
Meanwhile, Blue Origin is still not 'ready' to launch a rocket into orbit. However, the company is still developing the use of reusable rocket 'booster'.
The Blue Origin-created rocket is expected to launch into space this year.
SpaceX is currently focusing on developing reusable rockets, namely Starship. The rocket will be used to take humans to the Moon, Mars and back to Earth.
Although Blue Origin is seen to be far behind its competitors but Bezos is not worried, in accordance with the motto of Blue Origin which is Gradatim Ferociter which means violent step by step in Latin.
Blue Origin has quietly produced a rocket named New Armstrong. The rocket is likely to be fully reusable.
The company is also getting better in terms of launch and landing. In November 2015, the New Shepard rocket successfully landed back to Earth for the first time.
However, this New Shepard was not created to pass orbit. The rocket only moves between the boundaries of the atmosphere and the Earth's space.
The rocket will be used for tourists traveling in space in the future.
SpaceX, on the other hand, acted fast and aggressively because it had to fight for a contract from the beginning of its establishment.
Musk invested his own 100 million dollars into SpaceX, which he founded in 2002.
SpaceX did 3 rocket launches but all failed, before Falcon 1 was successfully launched into orbit in 2008.
However, SpaceX once faced a situation of near bankruptcy but NASA came up with a contract worth US $ 1.6 billion, thus 'saving' SpaceX.
So, who do you think will conquer space first? SpaceX or Blue Origin? Or will both of them succeed in conquering space with their respective goals?
Together we all look forward to it.
