Why Billionaires are going to Space?

Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and Jeff Bezos, each of these billionaires claim to have been fascinated by the idea of space travel ever since their childhood. As businessmen, however, they can also see a tremendous opportunity to make money by exploiting resources in space. At the moment, it is unclear what exactly they plan to tap from space, as has been the case with any nascent industry. Space tourism is one goal that has been explicitly stated. Let us dig a bit deeper into this.

Why Billionaires are going to Space?

The Business from Adventurous Space Travel

Virgin Atlantic, Richard Branson’s space company, plans to charge $250,000 for a seat on its sub-orbital space flight. There is even an ambitious plan to set up a human colony on various planets, as a backup plan to escape the earth in case of a catastrophe. Also, Mr. Bezos, Mr. Branson, and Mr. Musk may very well be looking to leave their mark in history as the pioneers of the private space industry. This is probably why Mr. Branson rushed his trip to space, that is, to beat Mr. Bezos.

Lastly, it is not just these big businessmen who have shown interest in the space sector. There are several smaller private companies that are vying for their share of the largely unexploited space business. Altitude Angel, PlanetWatchers, and AST SpaceMobile are a few of the notable ones. By some estimates, investment in commercial space ventures almost doubled in the last year alone. Even public markets have been tapped into recently to fund space ventures. Notably, Seraphim Space Investment Trust, a publicly-traded fund that holds stocks in various space companies, is backed by Mr. Branson.

Although Blue Origin did not respond to an inquiry about the price of tickets, though Reuters reported that the company initially estimated in 2018 that they would run for $200,000 to $300,000.

Well, space travel is not the only idea of creating business in space. There's something more. 

Will check that in the later article.

The End Notes

Ideas are like a butterfly, not on my mind right now. Because the butterfly flew away.

Have a good one. Cheers!