The long-awaited biography of Elon Musk, written by renowned journalist Walter Isaacson, who wrote a complete book on biographies of Steve Jobs and other famous people, goes on sale in Spain today.
Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos pursues his passion with an enthusiastic yet methodical flair. Like Elon Musk, he was addicted to science fiction in his childhood, devouring books by Isaac Asimov and Robert Heinle in his local library. Bezos witnessed the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, a defining moment for him, and later funded the recovery of Apollo 11 rocket engines from the Atlantic Ocean.
His enthusiasm for space made him an avid Star Trek fan, and his high school graduation speech was about colonizing planets and building space hotels. In 2000, after building Amazon into the world’s dominant online retailer, he quietly founded Blue Origin, focusing on reusable rockets and human expansion into space.
Bezos and Musk met in 2004, marking the beginning of their rivalry. Musk invited Bezos to SpaceX, and then Bezos invited Musk to Blue Origin. Although Bezos felt that Musk was too sure of himself without successfully launching a rocket, Musk offered advice.
In 2011, SpaceX received contracts from NASA to build rockets for the International Space Station. When SpaceX won the right to lease Launch Pad 39A, Bezos sued NASA, ramping up the competition.
The two visionaries shared a vision of reusable rockets to make space travel affordable. Bezos focused on sensors and software, while Musk was interested in the physics behind the drive to reach Earth orbit. Musk presented his vision for reusable rockets in a 2014 speech.
Bezos wanted to go into space and announced a flight in 2020 on a Blue Origin rocket, becoming the first billionaire to do so. Richard Branson has done the same before, sparking some friendly competition.
Musk and Bezos’ rivalry centers on their approach to engineering. Bezos was formal, while Musk was emotional and demanded tight deadlines. Musk believed Bezos wasn’t paying enough attention to engineering, which was hindering Blue Origin’s progress.
Bezos and Branson successfully flew into space in 2021, which Musk praised but considered small compared to orbit. The rivalry between these two space titans continued, each with their own unique focus on space exploration.
