WEBVTT - Branson, Bezos Make Space More Accessible

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer and Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>Quick Takes Tim Stinovic from Bloomberg Radio this weekend. You

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<v Speaker 1>know about this one joint STEMP for space tourism as

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<v Speaker 1>billionaire Richard Branson took a long away to test flight

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<v Speaker 1>to space, taken alongside five of his Virgin Galactic Holdings employees.

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<v Speaker 1>Are Ed Ludlow. Uh did talk with him right after

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<v Speaker 1>the trip. You can catch that conversation at Bloomberg dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Branson trip to space bolt ing. Virgin Atlantics plan to

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<v Speaker 1>debut tourism trips next year. Christian Davenport is report at

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<v Speaker 1>the Washington Post. He covers NASA and the space industry.

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<v Speaker 1>He's also author of The Space Barons, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos,

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<v Speaker 1>and The Quest to Colonize the Cosmos. And Christian joins

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<v Speaker 1>us on the phone in Washington. D See, Christian, good

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<v Speaker 1>to have you here. Yeah, thanks for having me. So

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<v Speaker 1>you've been covering this, you've been writing about it, It's

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<v Speaker 1>been a long time coming. Tell us about your feelings

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<v Speaker 1>seeing Richard Branson actually get into one of his ships

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<v Speaker 1>and get out there into space. Well, I mean, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it was exciting first and foremost I was there. Uh

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<v Speaker 1>it was sort of a you know, beautiful day in

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<v Speaker 1>Spaceport America in the desert of New Mexico where they've

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<v Speaker 1>built this gleaming facility, this twenty million dollar taxpayer funded facility,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know, it was typical Richard Branson and Virgin

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<v Speaker 1>Galactic with like, you know, a band and a celebratory party.

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<v Speaker 1>Atmosphere is really sort of almost like it was very festive.

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<v Speaker 1>But at the same time, you're watching this and and

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<v Speaker 1>it's nerve wracking, and it's tense because you know, there

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<v Speaker 1>are human beings on board and anytime you're you know,

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<v Speaker 1>shooting humans off into space, it's inherently risky. And so

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not gonna lie. I mean, I was holding my breath.

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<v Speaker 1>I think a lot of people were, um, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>given the fact also the Virgin Galactic had a fatal accident. Thankfully,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, uh, it went it seemed like it went perfectly,

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<v Speaker 1>and uh, you know, Richard had his moment in space,

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<v Speaker 1>got to float around the cabin with his crew members

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<v Speaker 1>and then come back down and celebrate. But it was,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, it was it was really a scene in

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<v Speaker 1>an extraordinary thing for the company. But really for Richard personally. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>and you know it's interesting that you say that the

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<v Speaker 1>party atmosphere. I'm a daughter of an engineer. Uh. Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>listeners know this involved in the early space race. Uh.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know we all got up early and it

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<v Speaker 1>was nerve wracking because my dad, you know, my dad

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<v Speaker 1>would say, there's you know, there's so many different systems

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<v Speaker 1>coming from so many different contractors on these things, at

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<v Speaker 1>least from the government's perspective, that so many things could

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<v Speaker 1>potentially go wrong, although they obviously were really careful to

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<v Speaker 1>make sure the systems weren't and then they had backup systems.

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<v Speaker 1>But it is interesting to see how it's become almost

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<v Speaker 1>like watching a movie to some extent. Yeah, and and right,

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of people like to romanticize space flight, and

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<v Speaker 1>there's a lot of hype and a lot of enthusiasm

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<v Speaker 1>because you've got these billionaires with you know, Elon Musk

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<v Speaker 1>and Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson. Uh. It does sort

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<v Speaker 1>of seem like the movies. But you know, as you knows,

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<v Speaker 1>as you and your family know that this is it's

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<v Speaker 1>incredibly difficult, it's incredibly risky. A million things have to

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<v Speaker 1>go right, Um, now this isn't you know, this is

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<v Speaker 1>not this is a suborbital space trip. It's going just

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<v Speaker 1>up to the edge of space and coming back down.

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<v Speaker 1>You sound like Jeff Bezos for a moment, right, Right's

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<v Speaker 1>or or elon because Elon he's going to orbit and

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<v Speaker 1>you know, so it's like that much. You know, he's

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<v Speaker 1>going to Mark and Richard's going to Mark three. So

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<v Speaker 1>it's still maybe not quite as dangerous, but still it's dangerous. Right.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a lot of things that that can that can happen.

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<v Speaker 1>We know that. So all right, so next up is

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<v Speaker 1>what Jeff Bezos, right, yeah, and on on Tuesday, on

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<v Speaker 1>July twenty at the anniversary of the Apollo moon landing,

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<v Speaker 1>and he announced that, um, you know, some time ago,

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<v Speaker 1>and then you know, Richard kind of beat him to

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<v Speaker 1>the punch. He said he wasn't you know, Richard was

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<v Speaker 1>going to go on a later flight for later the summer,

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<v Speaker 1>early in the fall, and then all of a sudden

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<v Speaker 1>moved up its flight, um, you know, which obviously it

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<v Speaker 1>angered Jeff and the people in Blue Origin, who, as

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<v Speaker 1>you were alluding to, sort of saying, well, they're not

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<v Speaker 1>quite going up as high as we're going and are

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<v Speaker 1>you know, windows are bigger, and it's own a rocket

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<v Speaker 1>as opposed to a space plane. Um. But you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's just sort of extraordinary that you have Blue Origin

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<v Speaker 1>Jeff Company, which was founded in two thousand and Virgin Galactic,

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<v Speaker 1>which was founded in two thousand four, So all these

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<v Speaker 1>years ago and then the founders go to space within

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<v Speaker 1>you know, just a few days of each other. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>that's just wild. You know these guys from the book

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<v Speaker 1>you wrote, uh and you've talked with them. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>what is it that we need to understand about Richard Branson?

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<v Speaker 1>And we'll talk more. We're gonna do some news and

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<v Speaker 1>then we'll come back and talk somewhere. But what do

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<v Speaker 1>we need to understand about Richard Branson and his pursuit

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<v Speaker 1>of this. Well, he wants to open up space to

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<v Speaker 1>more and more people. I mean today there's something like

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<v Speaker 1>five seventy people who have ever been to space, and

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<v Speaker 1>he wants to open that up. Now, like you know,

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<v Speaker 1>he's not opening it up for everyone just yet. It's

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<v Speaker 1>still very expensive. We don't know how much tickets are

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<v Speaker 1>going to cost when they reopened. But before they suspended

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<v Speaker 1>ticket sales, the flying version Galactic they were two hundred

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<v Speaker 1>fifty thousand dollars. I think they'll come back on you know,

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<v Speaker 1>they've said it's going to be more expensive than that.

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<v Speaker 1>Some analysts have estimated it could be as much as

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<v Speaker 1>five thousand dollars. So for like three or four minutes

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<v Speaker 1>of weightlessness. I don't know that that's going to be

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<v Speaker 1>in everyone's budget. But if they're able to fly more frequently,

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<v Speaker 1>and they're working on already sort of a next generation

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<v Speaker 1>spacecraft in a fleet, and then maybe they can bring

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<v Speaker 1>that down and send more people. So we've talked about

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<v Speaker 1>Richard Branson, We've talked about Jeff Bezos. He is up next.

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<v Speaker 1>So what's the significance Christian? I mean, I grew up

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<v Speaker 1>in an environment where this was just so important. It

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<v Speaker 1>was a it was a new world, you know, new

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<v Speaker 1>space exploration, you know, going into the unknown and and

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<v Speaker 1>finding out so much, and then it felt like it

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<v Speaker 1>waned so only here in the United States, and then

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<v Speaker 1>now we're seeing the private sector really step up and

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<v Speaker 1>push it. What's the significance of all of this? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean that's a great question because I think a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of people look at these space tourism flights and

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<v Speaker 1>there's a lot of wealthy people and they're like, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>we've got problems here on Earth. Why are we spending

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<v Speaker 1>all this money on space? Um? But I think it's

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<v Speaker 1>significant for a few reasons. UM. One in terms of

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<v Speaker 1>exploration and expanding our knowledge and you know, being able

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<v Speaker 1>to go out, um, you know, deeper into space. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>If you start with space tourism, you know, Jeff Bezos

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<v Speaker 1>and talks about you know, traditionally, I mean really before

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<v Speaker 1>SpaceX came along, you know, you might have a rocket

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<v Speaker 1>company or NASA and they might you know, launch twelve

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<v Speaker 1>rockets a year, right, and that's just not very much.

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<v Speaker 1>But if these businesses you know, coming in with being

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<v Speaker 1>much more efficient, are launching you know, twelve times a

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<v Speaker 1>month and you know many many times a year, they

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<v Speaker 1>get better, they get faster, the cost comes down, they

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<v Speaker 1>may space travel just more accessible. I mean not just

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<v Speaker 1>for you know, like space tourism, but being able to

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<v Speaker 1>get to the Moon and maybe even get to Mars.

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<v Speaker 1>And you know, as you mentioned, like we went to

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<v Speaker 1>the moon and last time we were there with nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>seventy two and nobody's been back. And you know, I

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<v Speaker 1>think NASA and the government has struggled, and you have

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<v Speaker 1>one political you know, white White House, comes in, they say,

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<v Speaker 1>we're going to the moon. And then another president comes

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<v Speaker 1>into and now we've been to the moon. We're going

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<v Speaker 1>to Mars. And then you know, then it's like we're

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<v Speaker 1>back to the moon. They go nowhere, and now you've

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<v Speaker 1>got these businessmen and they're just like, no, we gotta go,

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<v Speaker 1>we gotta go now and trying to create a business

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<v Speaker 1>case for it. What's the m hmm. But I wanted

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<v Speaker 1>to ask you is like you said that this feels

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<v Speaker 1>like it's a rich person's endeavor. Uh, and the people

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<v Speaker 1>who can partake in it, and there is taxpayer money

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<v Speaker 1>that goes into it as well. Should the public sector?

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<v Speaker 1>Should government still be involved in all of this? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean that's a great question. So there's taxpayer money

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<v Speaker 1>and going into some of it, like ASEX for example,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, they have contracts with NASA to fly cargo

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<v Speaker 1>and supplies to the International Space Station. Uh, they have

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<v Speaker 1>a contract to fly NASA's astronauts to the International Space Station.

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<v Speaker 1>And they've taken that money and yeah, I mean they

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<v Speaker 1>in turn have gone out and built the Falconine rocket

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<v Speaker 1>and the Dragon spacecraft and they can use that for

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<v Speaker 1>commercial purposes. If you've got NASA, they say, that's great,

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<v Speaker 1>that's what we wanted. We want to help build up

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<v Speaker 1>the industry. Up until now, Blue Origin has been funded,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, largely by Jeff Bezos his own personal fortune.

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<v Speaker 1>He's trying to change that by winning some of these contracts.

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<v Speaker 1>In fact, he's competing right now for a contract to

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<v Speaker 1>build a spacecraft that would land on the Moon that

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<v Speaker 1>actually SpaceX one and Jeff Bezos company, Blue Origin is

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<v Speaker 1>challenging that. Um. But I think what you're seeing is, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>you want these public private partnerships where NASA and the

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<v Speaker 1>government is investing in them and getting something for it.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, they're getting a service, whether it's you know,

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<v Speaker 1>flying satellites to space or resupplying the space station or

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<v Speaker 1>flying astronauts there. Um. And then those companies turn around

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<v Speaker 1>and invest that money in their own companies for a

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<v Speaker 1>commercial purpose, you know, which should in the long run

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<v Speaker 1>bring down the cost of the government while increasing their

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<v Speaker 1>you know, the private sector's capabilities, which really has grown

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<v Speaker 1>tremendously like in the last decade or so. Well. And

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<v Speaker 1>I do wonder what's kind of cool about the billionaires

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<v Speaker 1>who are involved in this, whether it's Elon, whether it's Richard,

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<v Speaker 1>whether it's Jeff. I mean, these are individuals who definitely

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<v Speaker 1>do it differently and think out of the box. If

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<v Speaker 1>you think about the impact they have had on our world,

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<v Speaker 1>and especially in terms of disrupting things, especially when I

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<v Speaker 1>think about Elon, uh and even Jeff right, I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>retail has been transformed the class just you know, pick

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<v Speaker 1>your thing, and I do wonder if it's these things. Ultimately,

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<v Speaker 1>all of this space exploration, right of all heard the

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<v Speaker 1>stories about tang and about vel grow and you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I think it was either even tempera pedic beds, right,

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<v Speaker 1>Like all of this came out of NASA research and

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<v Speaker 1>so on and so forth. I mean, is there something

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<v Speaker 1>above and beyond that if we all kind of just

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<v Speaker 1>let our minds wander and open that the possibility by

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<v Speaker 1>exploring space, you know what we might find? They certainly

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<v Speaker 1>think so Am I getting too weird on you? But

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<v Speaker 1>I just feel like this is your world? And are

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<v Speaker 1>you talking to scientists and academics who say, wait, the

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<v Speaker 1>reason we need to be doing this is because of X,

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<v Speaker 1>Y and Z. Yeah. No, I don't think it's too

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<v Speaker 1>weird at all. And it fits right in for like

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<v Speaker 1>what Jeff. Jeff talks about this and he says he

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<v Speaker 1>wants to use space to open up sort of this

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<v Speaker 1>new economic dynamism like we had with the advent of

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<v Speaker 1>the Internet. But with the Internet, like that infrastructure was

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<v Speaker 1>in place so that you know, Mark Zuckerbert could found

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook from his dorm room and Jeff could you know,

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<v Speaker 1>start Amazon because the infrastructure was there, like the phone

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<v Speaker 1>line to you laid down the cable, and there was

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<v Speaker 1>this device called the credit card, and Jeff could take

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<v Speaker 1>people's money, and there was the post office that could

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<v Speaker 1>deliver the books, um, and so you could start an

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<v Speaker 1>internet company from nothing. But you can't today really start

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<v Speaker 1>a space company because it's too the you know, the

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<v Speaker 1>the bar getting into access, it's just too high. It's

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<v Speaker 1>too difficult. The barriers to entry are too hard. And

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<v Speaker 1>what they want to do is helped build that infrastructure

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<v Speaker 1>so that some kid in his dorm room could start

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<v Speaker 1>a space company. And you're starting to see some of

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<v Speaker 1>these like you know, we pay attention to like the

0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:37.319
<v Speaker 1>billionaires and their rockets. But there's a company called Planet

0:11:37.320 --> 0:11:40.280
<v Speaker 1>out of San Francisco, for example, that has a fleet

0:11:40.280 --> 0:11:42.880
<v Speaker 1>of satellites and space and they take you know, an

0:11:42.920 --> 0:11:46.800
<v Speaker 1>image of the entire planet every single day and have

0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:52.280
<v Speaker 1>this massive database of the Earth going back through time. Um.

0:11:52.320 --> 0:11:55.800
<v Speaker 1>You know that's you know, a viable company right there

0:11:55.800 --> 0:11:57.880
<v Speaker 1>that's had a normal success. So I think what they

0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:00.600
<v Speaker 1>want to do is, yes, open that up or business

0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:04.520
<v Speaker 1>and for science, but they need to first build the infrastructure,

0:12:04.600 --> 0:12:07.520
<v Speaker 1>that sort of highway to space. All right, So just

0:12:07.559 --> 0:12:09.719
<v Speaker 1>got about thirty forty seconds left here. What are you

0:12:09.720 --> 0:12:11.880
<v Speaker 1>going to be looking out for for Jeff Bezos in

0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:15.439
<v Speaker 1>his flight next week? Yeah, I mean so it's it's

0:12:15.440 --> 0:12:17.959
<v Speaker 1>not just Jeff and his brother who are going. We

0:12:18.040 --> 0:12:21.160
<v Speaker 1>still don't know the identity of this twenty eight million

0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:24.680
<v Speaker 1>dollar auction winner. Uh. You know they auctioned off that

0:12:24.720 --> 0:12:26.559
<v Speaker 1>seat and they went to twenty eight million dollars. Wait,

0:12:26.600 --> 0:12:28.880
<v Speaker 1>I have to tell somebody everybody actually it was no, No,

0:12:28.960 --> 0:12:33.719
<v Speaker 1>it's not me. Oh that it were true. Yes, but

0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:36.000
<v Speaker 1>it is a little crazy because if you spent fifty

0:12:36.000 --> 0:12:39.280
<v Speaker 1>five million, you could fly on SpaceX and spend a

0:12:39.280 --> 0:12:41.480
<v Speaker 1>week on the International Space Station. But we won't get

0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:44.240
<v Speaker 1>into that. Um. And the fourth seas is going to

0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:47.760
<v Speaker 1>Wally Funk, who's eighty two years old, and she was

0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:50.600
<v Speaker 1>part of this group called the Mercury Thirteen, which was

0:12:50.640 --> 0:12:53.559
<v Speaker 1>a group of women and there was sort of a

0:12:53.679 --> 0:12:57.800
<v Speaker 1>privately funded endeavored to train them alongside the men in

0:12:57.840 --> 0:12:59.960
<v Speaker 1>the show that they were ready. And now she gets

0:13:00.080 --> 0:13:03.880
<v Speaker 1>or tripped space. Finally. I love that aspect of it.

0:13:03.920 --> 0:13:05.960
<v Speaker 1>And it's not a week. It's actually July twentie. It's

0:13:05.960 --> 0:13:07.120
<v Speaker 1>a little bit more than a week that we see

0:13:07.160 --> 0:13:09.400
<v Speaker 1>Jeff go up. Um. Christian, this was fun. Thank you

0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:12.439
<v Speaker 1>so much for coming on. Christian Davenport over at the

0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:16.080
<v Speaker 1>Washington Post cover space. Check out his book The Space Barrens.

0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:17.959
<v Speaker 1>That's going to do it for this Monday, folks, get

0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:21.160
<v Speaker 1>ready for bank earnings. I'm Carol Messer and this is Bloomberg.