Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk have more in common than just being billionaires

• Amazon and SpaceX CEOs, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, have more in common than just being billionaires.
  
• During the Satellite 2019 conference, Bezos unveiled his plans for space exploration.
  
• And, as it turns out both, Bezos and Musk, want to make access to space cheaper.
  

Two of the world’s most eccentric men, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, have more in common than just being billionaires — they both believe that getting to space should be affordable.

Musk-owned SpaceX and Bezos’ rocket company Blue Origin, both aim to reduce the cost of space access.

Bezos believes that sustainable human habitats should be planned in space. In a speech at the Satellite 2019 conference, the founder of Amazon, said that space access is not just about getting a lunar lander on the moon.

To make space travel cheaper, prices can’t merely fall, but have to nose dive. To achieve that goal, both these companies are working on reusable rockets.

Preserving costs

Operating reusable rockets for space launches allows companies to salvage parts of rocket and launch vehicles. Blue Origin’s New Shepard system is a fully reusable space vehicle — and, it wants to carry out humans to outer space.

Before the turn of the century, the average cost of a launch was $18,500 per kilogram.

But, when SpaceX came out with the Falcon 9 in 2010, the launch only cost $2,700 per kilogram. And, the Falcon Heavy took it further, slicing it down to $1,400 per kilogram.

The exponential reduction in costs also increases the competition in the industry, leading to a dip in prices all around, according to a study by the Texas Tech University.

Musk is from Mars

But, that’s where the similarities end.

Musk wants Mars to be prepped to sustain human life, as a back-up plan in case humanity doesn’t manage to preserve their own planet.

But, Bezos’ claims that “there is no plan B” for Earth. Even if there are planets that can support human life, the options are vastly limited. Hence, rather than plan for light years of travel, Blue Origin’s end-game is to build artificial worlds instead, called O’Neill cylinders — based on Gerard O’Neill’s book, The High Frontier.

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Jeff Bezos just unveiled a giant lunar lander that he says is 'going to the moon'