Tech | June 28, 2009 | 12 comments

Why are tech millionaires obsessed with traveling into Space?

source: http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/judgments/2009/06/24/geeks-space

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There is also a shadow NASA out there, made up of tech geeks who are investing their second entrepreneurial wind into beating NASA, Boeing (BA), and Lockheed Martin (LMT) by building lighter, faster, cheaper, and, amazingly, reusable rockets that will supplant the space shuttle when it is retired in 2010. First, there is Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon (AMZN), who in 2000 founded Blue Origin, a secretive company focused on making suborbital space tourism affordable and accessible. (First qualification for working there? "You must have a passion for space.") There is also Armadillo Aerospace, founded by John Carmack, of DOOM and Quake fame. And there's the Big Space Cheese himself, PayPal co-founder and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose space company, Space Exploration Technologies (or SpaceX), has become adept at scoring massive government contracts to build rockets that will make space deliveries of things like supplies and satellites for NASA and the Department of Defense. (Musk recently made his ultimate destination clear: Mars.)

So why do tech geeks love space? Though they may have the resources—a trip to space will now set you back some $45 million—this can't be the full answer: You don't see Donald Trump or P. Diddy signing up for an astro-mission. What makes it worth it for the tech geeks? Garriott, for one, has thought about this extensively. In part, he loves space because his father, Owen, was a NASA astronaut. But then there's the social conditioning.
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12 comments // Why are tech millionaires obsessed with traveling into Space?

  • S3th
    • 0
      S3th  

    • Have you ever read Anousheh Ansari blog about her trip to space.

      Very uplifting, and eye opening.

      And what she says about the stars in space, sure make Armstrong and Collins look like a couple of lying assholes!!!

    • 2 years ago
  • S3th
  • Skyscraper08
    • 0
      Skyscraper08  

    • It's a good thing, that they are into space -- they know what their doing and are passionate about it, which means more results can be gained...it's more than 'just for fun'.

    • 2 years ago
  • ksimpson
  • jh64487
  • remanns
    • 0
      remanns  

    • Well, what is it about the concept of "sort of a BAD ASS GEEK" that you have trouble getting a handle on? Its all about having vision and getting there. And when you do get there,........its one hell of a view. People climb mountains, dive down into ocean caves,....just cuz,.......cross oceans in small one man sailing craft,....and balloons, sky dive from way the hell up,.... and occasionally actually marry redheads.

    • 2 years ago
  • pjacobs51
    • 0
      pjacobs51  

    • I grew up in the 60s and watched all the space missions, and then saw 2001 a Space Odyssey. I thought for sure we would have that awesome space station up and running by 1980. But no! That "One Giant Leap for Mankind" turned into: all resources and monies diverted for the Cold War, and endless other wars I don't need to mention.

      The future looked so bright back then, WTF happened to mankind? They've been fighting over imaginary borders and imaginary religions for too long. What happened to reason?

      Sure, I would love to go to space. Mainly to get away from all this insanity on Earth.

    • 2 years ago
  • S3th
    • 0
      S3th  
    • pjacobs51:

      Duped.

      Duped.

      Duped.

      Apollo fraud!

      Money diverted to Nukes and secret weapons programs.

      Unless you think it takes 30 billion dollars to make a fake moon movie that only takes about four million to make today.

      Wake up America, your country needs your vigilance and lack of ignorance NOW more than EVER!

    • 2 years ago
  • Alex_French
  • stevieuk
    • 0
      stevieuk  

    • see this is what goes on when you have too much money, so happy i dont have that problem HOWEVER a still would like to win the lotto

    • 2 years ago
  • anikhanj
  • asherp
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