Bezos blasts off
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It was one small step for mankind.
Jeff Bezos followed Richard Branson to the edge of space on Tuesday. The Amazon boss ticked his top item off his personal wish list when his Blue Origin spacecraft blasted off from the Texas desert, lingered in weightlessness for a few brief moments and then floated flawlessly back to Earth on colorful parachutes.
Even for those cynics who cast doubt on the utility of billionaires playing with their rocket toys, the scenes today — and last week, when Branson floated around above the Earth — were spectacular. And since spaceflight is never really safe, the foreboding idea that something could have gone wrong added an edge to the coverage — which was a hit on television news and websites.
Some analysts are saying that the current multimillion-dollar price tag to book a seat on private rockets to blast off from the unhealthy planet could soon herald a new public era in space exploration. Certainly, the reusable nature of the Branson and Bezos programs (the reverse thrusters of the Amazon chief’s booster brought it into a pinpoint landing shortly before his capsule hit terra firma) could be important. And the combined billions they have spent could have scientific payoffs.
But ordinary Joes will not be lining up to become astronauts for years. Even Bezos admitted in an interview with CNN before his flight that critics who said he should splash his cash on fixing terrestrial challenges had a point.
“Well, I say they’re largely right. We have to do both. You know, we have lots of problems here and now on Earth and we need to work on those, and we always need to look to the future,” Bezos said, adding that his mission was about blazing a path for future generations to get into space.
Fair enough. But the hoopla over two spaceflights that didn’t reach orbit — and NASA’s recent return to launches in a commercial partnership — underscores something else as well: the bravery and audacity of early space pioneers, who performed far more impressive and risky feats in much more rickety craft over 50 years ago, including several trips to the moon.
That really was a giant leap.
