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Jeff Bezos Quits Amazon: What Does It Mean for Blue Origin?
More commitment from Bezos could propel Blue Origin to orbit, but its problems run deeper than many think.
The two richest men in the world, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, both have their own private space programs. While Musk gets most of the attention, and has advanced further than anyone else, Bezos has been quietly working on his own projects for a while.
His recent announcement that he will be stepping down as Amazon CEO has inspired a buzz of chatter asking what comes next. It seems probable that a lot of his attention will be focused on Blue Origin and space exploration, alongside other interests like climate change, politics and philanthropy.
Don’t expect Bezos to approach space like Musk does. It’s unlikely we’ll see him tweeting out controversial statements or announcing missions to Mars anytime soon. But we could see a bit more publicity surrounding Blue Origin and their activities, and maybe a push to start launching more regularly.
Blue Origin has been trying to hit two big objectives for a while. The first is to fly an astronaut to just beyond the edge of space, something they have been planning since at least 2019. According to recent reports that trip may still be some time off, though…
