Billionaires Bezos and Musk battle it out for spaceSeptember 27, 2013, 1:03 PM
Two billionaires are battling it out for the coveted launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center. And enlisting major political power.
Amazon.com Inc. AMZN CEO and founder Jeff Bezos and Tesla Motors Inc. TSLA and Paypal Inc. founder Elon Musk are both vying for the now defunct U.S. shuttle launch location to use for their respective space projects, according to media reports.
Elon MuskMusk, who launched Space Exploration Technologies Corp., known as SpaceX in 2002, has former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott lobbying for him, according to a report in Bloomberg..
SpaceX designs, manufacture and launch rockets and spacecrafts, according to its website. The company has plans to revolutionize space technology with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets. The firm has already delivered cargo to the space station under a $1.6 billion National Aeronautics and Space Administration contract, said the Bloomberg report.
Bezos, who founded Blue Origin LLC, says it is working to make space travel more affordable in order to explore the solar system. Blue Origin has hired two former lawmakers including one that is the former House Science Committee chairman to lobby, says Bloomberg.
The battle started in May when NASA requested proposals to operate the famous launch pad, the site of such missions as the Apollo landing on the moon. And plans are to spend $8.7 billion in the next five years to transport crews and cargos to the station.
Both sides are lobbying hard to be the holders of the lease for the space pad, spending thousands to court both sides of the aisle. Bezos’s has proposed sharing the site and Musk’s SpaceX recently changed positions from wanting exclusive rights after criticism from members of Congress.
But a decision on who will win the lease may not be able to be determined until the U.S. Government Accountability Office has its say, which is expected to be by December 12. Whoever has control of the lease, has control over who uses what, when, say analysts.
SpaceX is ahead of Blue Origin, in terms of being in space, say industry observers.
Jeff BezosMusk’s firm has docked a commercial aircraft at the space station and has started to ferry cargo. The firm has received contracts from NASA to transport cargo valued at more than $1.6 billion, as well as funding, according to the report.
Blue Origin has no contracts with NASA but has received funding from the agency to develop a spacecraft to carry astronauts.
In the meantime, both firms are looking to do some major hiring, given the number of job listings on their respective websites.
– Sital S. Patel
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2013/09/27/billionaires-bezos-and-musk-battle-it-out-for-space/
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