Jeff Bezos, the billionaire who founded Amazon, declared that he will sell approximately $1 billion in Amazon stock every year to finance his Blue Origin rocket company. The entrepreneur also demonstrated the reusable rocket booster and the mock-up capsule that will transport people in high in the atmosphere for panoramic views.
The announcements took place at the 33rd Space Symposium, where Bezos also declared that the costs of developing an even larger rocket would be around $2.5 billion. The orbital launch system's name is New Glenn. It will be able to lift satellites and a more advanced prototype could even transport people into orbit. The system is estimated to take off by 2020 from a Florida launch facility.
Jeff Bezos Sells About $1 Billion A Year To Invest In Blue Origin
Similarly to Elon Musk of SpaceX, Bezos has determined reusable rocket parts as a key element to lowering the costs of admission to the field, which he described as leading to a "golden age of space exploration."
"If we can make access to space low-cost, then entrepreneurs will be unleashed. You will see creativity, you will see dynamism, you will see the same thing in space that I've witnessed on the internet in the last 20 years," Bezos noted.
However impressive the figure, Bezos gave his statement half-jokingly, after explicitly stating he doesn't usually reveal the amount of money he spends on his business ideas. The entrepreneur also mentioned, on a more serious note, that this specific in-house space effort he is coordinating is pretty expensive, taking a noticeable amount of his approximately $78 billion.
But these aren't the only space projects Bezos is currently developing. The New Shepard suborbital rocket ship has already flown to space and back five times as part of the test flights, and it was a huge success. The booster is currently on display at the symposium.
Space Travel, Bezos' Lifelong Dream
Bezos' interest in space goes back from his childhood when he first started to take interest in astronomy and everything related to it. As a kid, he wished to see millions of people traveling to and working in space.
Bezos, aged 53, managed to put those childhood ideas to good use. Recently, the man stated that he started Amazon with a greater idea in mind: to use the profit to put up what we now know as Blue Origin.
However, being a man of business as well, Bezos has high expectations from Blue Origin, hoping that soon enough this initiative will bring him profit. Bezos plans to launch New Glenn by 2020.
"My singular focus is people in space. I want humans in space. And when you build something that has a high fixed cost, like New Glenn, to make the business model close, you have to use it for other things," he added.
As Bezos is the second wealthiest person on the planet, he intends to apply the lessons learned at Amazon to space travel. Amazon has more than doubled its worth during the last five years, so the billionaire doesn't mind investing time in something that can bring long-term profit.
"It's a mistake to race to a deadline when you're talking about a flying vehicle, especially one you're going to put people on," he added at the symposium.
