Today’s space race looks in some ways like that of the 1960s; instead of the US v the Soviet Union, it’s Bezos’ Blue Origin v Musk’s SpaceX.
Already a subscriber?Five years ago, Jeff Bezos stood on a darkened stage in Washington, DC, a large black curtain covering a platform behind him. Clad in a grey suit and black shirt, he expounded the virtues of exploring the moon to a crowd of journalists and space enthusiasts. “It’s nearby. It’s three days away,” Bezos said. “You can go to the moon just about anytime you want.”
It’s been more than a half-century since a human being left a footprint in lunar dust. The companies are duelling to put astronauts back on the moon’s surface, funded largely by the US government. Musk runs his aerospace operation like a typical for-profit enterprise, using money from clients – including the government – that want to hitch equipment to its rockets as a way to fund product development. Bezos has, at least until recently, treated Blue Origin more like a research laboratory. Which strategy will win this moon race should become clear over the next few years.
Still, Musk acknowledged the merits of going to the moon as NASA was laying the groundwork for its mission. “If you want to get the public fired up, you’ve got to put a base on the moon,” he said in 2017. A major complicating factor is an unproven refuelling system that requires launching multiple Starships. Escaping Earth’s gravity requires a lot of energy, and the fuel cost increases for heavier objects. A rocket the size of Starship can’t make it to the moon and back on a single tank filled up on Earth.calls for the launch of one Starship into Earth’s orbit, where it will park and serve as a fuelling depot.
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