Will Jeff Bezos kick-start Blue Origin? Does he need to?

摘要

Back in the 1990s, space advocates had visions of reusable launch vehicles that would lower the cost of getting to orbit, opening the door to everything from space hotels to space solar power satellites. The problem, they argued at conferences as they showed viewgraphs of their designs, was not technical but financial: few were willing to invest in these ventures. If only Bill Gates, then the richest man in the world, would put his money into the industry, some lamented. A quarter-century later, those enthusiasts got their wish and then some. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, the two richest men in the world, are at the forefront of the commercial space industry today. Reusable launch vehicles? SpaceX routinely lands and reuses its Falcon 9 boosters, while Blue Origin has demonstrated the reuse of its New Shepard sub-orbital vehicle. Both men have espoused ambitious long-term plans, from Bezos' vision of millions of people living and working in space to Musk's goal to establish a city on Mars.