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Friday, March 29, 2024

Billionaire Space Tourism Is Letting People Live Out Childhood Space Dreams…If They Can Afford It

Courtesy of ZeroHedge View original post here.

With the help of burgeoning space firms like Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, many of America's ultra-rich are getting the opportunity to fulfill childhood space aspirations that may have otherwise been untenable. 

At least that's the story for venture investor Lane Bess, who made his money working in Silicon Valley’s cybersecurity startups, according to Bloomberg.

He is going to be among 6 passengers that will be taking part in Blue Origin's third manned space flight this weekend. 

Bess said: “Part of who I am is seeking adventure and not being afraid to take risks. It’s fulfilling a boyhood dream.”

And it's not just Bess that's getting to fulfill these childhood dreams. There has been a group of successful businesspeople who have been able to buy their way into outer space thanks to the "space race" taking place between billionaires like Richard Branson, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. 

On Wednesday of last week, Japanese businessman Yusaku Maezawa also blasted off into space. The 46 year old is the first "tourist" to visit the ISS in over a decade. He also plans to be the "first paying passenger to fly around the moon" by way of Elon Musk's SpaceX in 2023, the report notes.

The man who put Maezawa's trip together, Eric Anderson, chief executive officer of Space Adventures, says prices for such trips aren't expected to come down anytime soon.

He said: “The costs are labor, materials, infrastructure, and it’s all gone up over time. Imagine the cost of flying to Tokyo if you throw away the airplane after one flight.” 

Bess did not disclose the price he paid for his trip, though Blue Origin had previously auctioned off a ticket to its inaugural crewed flight this past summer for $28 million. Bess didn't win the action, he said.

He said of the flight prep that “they’ve really tried to make this as consumer-friendly as possible”. 

“Unlike SpaceX, Jeff Bezos has funded this primarily at his own cost. When you look at the facilities they’ve built and the engineering brilliance, it’s the kind of commitment very few people on Earth can make.” 

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