The billionaire space race continues, with Elon Musk seemingly unfazed by the recent explosion of SpaceX’s Starship rocket during a test launch on April 20. Despite the $67 million loss, Musk congratulated the SpaceX team on Twitter, noting the company learned valuable lessons for the next test launch in a few months.
However, that timeline might be too optimistic, as an FAA investigation is expected. Douglas Messier, managing editor of ParabolicArc, believes it may take longer than three months. Messier also mentioned that Musk had managed expectations effectively, as the original plan involved a 90-minute flight with Starship crashing off the coast of Kauai.
SpaceX’s setback is not an isolated incident in the ongoing billionaire space race. Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin experienced its own difficulties in September 2022 when flames shot out of the bottom of an unmanned New Shepard rocket. Although there were no injuries, the issue was traced back to an overheated rocket engine, grounding flights for the time being.
Eric Berger, author of “Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX,” said that Blue Origin’s programs are not generating the expected income. This month, Richard Branson’s satellite-launch company, Virgin Orbit, filed for bankruptcy after failing to secure funding. Berger argues that Branson was never a major player in serious space exploration, as his companies are focused on space tourism.
Despite the challenges faced by these billionaires, their ambitions to explore space remain strong. Bezos and Branson have already flown to the edge of space, with Blue Origin attracting celebrity passengers like William Shatner and Michael Strahan. Meanwhile, SpaceX has plans to send celebrities and Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa on a journey to Mars.
As the billionaire space race unfolds, it remains to be seen which entrepreneur will come out on top in the long run. However, for now, Elon Musk appears to be leading the pack, even after the explosive setback with Starship.
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