Another Billionaire Survives Flight to Space

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Jeff Bezos had a successful suborbital flight. He flew on his Blue Origin rocket.

Congratulations to Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin.

SOURCES- Blue Origin, NPR
Written By Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com

51 thoughts on “Another Billionaire Survives Flight to Space”

  2. Good thing there is money to be made in Space. That will get some people going with a way to pay for the effort. Please note I have added to the list at the top, but you must "See more" to see them.

  3. The only actually qualified person on board.

    And yes, I was very pleased she managed to finally make the trip.

  4. Henry the Navigator didn't wait for other European monarchs to think that oceanic exploration was worth investing in.

  5. Given all my current share investments are dollar-cost-averaged into the market via my retirement plan, volatility is exactly what I want.

    Dollar cost averaging is at its best when the market is jumping around like brownian motion on acid.

    Well, it's actually at its best when the market collapses into the gutter for decades and suddenly booms just before I want to cash out, but that's just wishful thinking.

  7. You are saying we should do EXACTLY what O'Neill sez to do in 1976. I agree!! The thing about Space is that it is an opp like computers, but not *new* stuff, just old stuff in a different place, which also may have many advantages. New stuff too. O'Neill and I, and Criswell for that matter, are Physics guys. Don't overthink the examples, just look at the overall situation and engineer it. Enjoy!

    https://www.bis-space.com/membership/jbis/2019/JBIS-v72-no09-September-October-2019%20-%20Subscription%20Copy.pdf

  8. It's been hugely good for me, but I keep a moderately large portfolio of equities that has no short term impact on my take-home. Consequently, my main goal is to buy things I can hold for over a year, preferably several, and I can afford to ignore fluctuations in a stock's price (unless it is going bankrupt or some such). This works even better for me when the market gets more volatile, as it has been.

    High volatility tends to amplify wealth and income inequality. This is because things like the Dow's 800+ drop on Monday, tend to make the "the little guys" nervous and they cash out, locking in their losses (human nature, it seems). The "bargain" holdings are then purchased by those with the means who also realize that, when the price swings the other way, they can profit mightily, in addition to "normal" growth and dividends.

    A big part of the volatility comes from people being nervous. Bezos dying suddenly would make a lot of people nervous, as a resurgence in COVID is already doing. And a lot of people are already nervous because they think the market is close to peaking . . . even though it is no more likely to do so in any given year than it was in the year before. The dice have no memory.

    Even if a major correction comes, many of us can afford to "let it ride" until the market recovers, even if this takes several years. Whereas, a lot of smaller investors either cannot or will not wait. Yes, they should know better, but people are people and we can't prevent that.

  9. The problem with starting O'Neill has always been that no one has ever done any metal refining anywhere where there is no water or gravity or reducing compounds (like coke or flux) or a ready source of 1000 K heat. We need to develop those methodologies here on Earth and then design the machines which will perform them and then build and test them and then pick a NEA and then launch them into space to finally start sourcing of structural material in space.

    Even if we start with a metallic asteroid and do no refining, and don't care about the variability of the quality of the metal, we still need to shape it into beams and sheets and then bend those into interesting shapes as well, and all of that is also an open problem. There is no hard showstopper, but there we are still a decade or so and a couple of tens of billions of dollars of R&D away from having an orbital ironworks ready for volume production.

  10. Why limit ourselves? It is not one or the other. Do it all – lunar surface – orbital habitats – colonize the Lagrange points … let your imagination run wild. Yes – get the robots up there – build factories on the moon or the belts and make billions of them. Let people guide what they build and you will see incredible new places appear for people to visit and live. Spread humanity and our creations throughout all space. Ad Astra!

  11. Getting to LEO is still a primary barrier to space development. I agree, once there, the cost of getting elsewhere energy wise is negligible. Time to get there is a different calculation.

    Musk, and (perhaps) Bezos will give us the means to get the tools (and people) into space. I hope that it happens fast enough to see what WE can build up there.

  12. “The most profound piece of it for me was looking out at the Earth, and
    looking at Earth’s atmosphere from space,” he [Bezos] said. “Everybody who’s been up in space, they say this: that it changes them when they look at
    it, and they’re amazed and awestruck by the Earth and its beauty — but
    also by its fragility. And I can vouch for that.”

  13. Bezos sez "“It’s not only adventure … but it’s also important, because what we’re doing is the first step of something big,”

  14. Musk should sell or get out of leading Tesla. The Tesla plan is clear, the market has been changed, but too many details with cars, not important enuf any more, imho. He should take a break and read O'Neill. Just think!

  15. Well, the King got to see what battle was about. If Musk *sees* Space/Earth situation, maybe he will join Bezos and us O'Neill folks in helping the Earth, not just escaping it with a stooooopid Mars plan.

  17. Which of course sets up the self humiliation. *They* are offended that Bezos is spending money on something they don't like, saving the planet as O'Neill plan does. They don't have any clue they are coming out against saving the planet, but that is because they have no clue about O'Neill. Space, to them, is useless Mars stuff etc only. We cannot wait for a majority of them to understand O'Neill. We will all die.

  19. I thot I would find info for a "high" chair. There is a Neptune project for people carrying balloon(s). Is it high enuf? Jets are 5 miles, balloons 20, Branson/Bezos 50-60, ISS 250 but they say still *too* low. But that is too low to see the "Whole Earth" (TM), not Overview. Overview seems to be about seeing thinness of atmos and darkness of Space, so is a balloon still in atmos but there for hours high enuf??? Looks like thousands will be able to vote on this!

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Chair

  20. What's the theme song going to for when Elon goes up on VG? Something from the Lord of the Rings soundtracks, maybe? Or, perhaps, a piece from The Labyrinth.

  21. I read this headline and couldn't stop laughing. Not funny but funny, because, "billionaire" and "survives". I have to say, though, kudos to Wally Funk for getting to space. That's awesome. At her age and she's probably in better shape than me. Good lord.

  23. Hmmm… interesting. Wikipedia has a bit on it.

    Would JP Aerospace get you high enough, do you think?

  24. The hollywood stars and US political leaders don't actually think money is evil. We can see hard evidence of this.

    They think other people having money is evil.

  26. Ummm… I've not been following the US market much this year, (though I should, I mean it's a reasonable part of my portfolio) but glancing at the graphs, and knowing more about my local market, I'm not seeing any sign of trouble.

    They look like a steady bull run to me.

    What am I missing?

  27. Indeed. The only real difference launch capability makes to O'Neill plans is whether it is big enuf to send humans. If we could only send small robots, the ordeal of setting up at any scale would be much harder than with human visits and help. We have always had that help. The only problem with starting O'Neill plans has been not starting. For almost 50 years, wasted time. I was there complaining since 1977. Bezos is now doing O'Neill, first access, then ISMRU for Space Solar and small ELEO habs. O'Neill is much more than one thing, the Island 3 plans you are familiar with. O'Neill is all about a question. "Is the surface of a planet the right place for an expanding tech civilization?" For a lunar base? Surface or lunar orbit? What is *your* answer? Is it wise to ignore O'Neill's question at this time?

  28. If you mean sudden important transformation of a lasting kind sort of miracle, a lot of second hand stuff. The "Overview Effect" is the term these people use, astronauts. I may have more than the usu ability to visualize the sight, having studied astronomy, etc, but don't claim any actual experience/evidence of my own. A lot of science is like that. Bezos specifically was going to do the very experiment you would need for actual evidence, see the Earth from orbit, but his only real report so far is whooping. Many will soon follow.

  29. There is a lot of envy and money is evil thinking there, but my gripe about them would be about the absurdity of complaining about the main person doing something to solve the very energy/enviro probs they bring up. They don't even know about O'Neill.

  31. They both look like people who can't QUITE afford to do it themselves, sour graping as hard as they can.

    Another price drop, they'll go themselves, all of a sudden it'll be praised as the greatest and most socially aware way of spending money.

  33. Don't be ridiculous. Bezos thinks BIG. His achievements are measured in millions of tonnes.

    0 million tonnes in this case.

  38. He specifically said in the blue moon reveal vid that he will not be doing an O'Neil style space habitat , that's the job of the kids in the audience.

    Over the rest of this decade, space enthusiasts will finally come to realize that launch costs was never the primary barrier to space development beyond leo.

  40. As you will learn by checking out O'Neill, the plan is to use the mass that is there, in orbit, or at least out of Earth surface gravity. That is his exact motivation, to get there, not get stuff there.

  41. Congrats to BO.
    I'm sure it was the ride of a lifetime.
    would be nice (in a couple years) for Jeff to donate 1 seat per month to Amazon Prime members in a drawing, that would be cool to have everyday (non-rich) people to experience this.

  43. Here are people who do not understand O'Neill humiliating themselves. Enjoy!

    https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/hollywood-reacts-jeff-bezos-space-180858603.html

    https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/elizabeth-warren-attacks-amazon-taxes-bezos-space-flight-195411533.html

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/whitey-moon-poem-garners-social-020408859.html

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/why-bezos-flying-space-because-132648151.html

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/jeff-bezos-promethean-impulse-171446785.html

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/jeff-bezos-went-space-realize-233347245.html

    https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/watching-jeff-bezos-space-more-160034618.html

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/bezos-caps-space-flight-hasty-194658422.html

    https://www.yahoo.com/news/opinion-marvel-private-space-industry-194350444.html

    https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/jeff-bezos-uses-money-spew-172459493.html

  44. The key to understanding O'Neill is that his question applies to all activities, not just living, as settlements. Energy collection has always been the big O'Neill idea to get started, and the rest will follow that $$$. Space resources almost as important, that is the Bezos plan, and BIS is helping with details. It is mostly about robots, tended by still many humans. Bezos is all in with O'Neill, completely.

    The details about New Glenn and New Shepard are tricky. I was long wrong in thinking that Bezos' saying that NS would fit into NG cargo meant it actually would be done, as third stage. WRONG! NS is a test bed for NG second stage, esp engines, but also lander for Moon both legs and guidance. So, he will in a sense do as you say, but I think with two NS engines on second stage. Will need new capsule for orbit, but all is designed human rated from the start. Perhaps NG will bring larger crew as Musk Starship is go for cargo, but may be a while for crew launch, imho.

  45. Interesting document but nothing to with Blue Origin. I made a mistake in my original post – did not do my research. New Shepard is the ship Bezos rode up in. New Glenn is their planned orbital booster. THAT is what I was looking for, but it is only scheduled for testing at the end of 2022. So maybe 2023 or later perhaps Bezos can put New Shepard on top of New Glen and put people into space.

    I hear Bezos is a fan of O'Neil style space habitat development – if he really wants to establish a legacy for himself perhaps there is where he should put his focus.

  47. We now know the rockets are holding up new Glenn. I don't know what the issues are but with Bezos interest and cash it should be solvable. I still think we are underestimating just how important Space X move to stainless steel has impacted their development. They have changed the design on their Big Rocket (cannot keep up with the name changes) several times which I don't think Blue Origin will be able to do with New Glenn if they run into problems. Congrats are in order to Blue Origin.

  50. Phew. Just relieved he got back. Regardless of how you feel about him, the markets don't need any more big shocks at the present time.

  51. Not Impressed. Until these guys can make it to orbit, what's the point? Bezos SHOULD be able to have his guys design a booster to put under his New Glenn to get them there.

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