Everyone seems to want the moon now: Russians, Americans, Chinese, Indians, and it seems even Pakistan. Own programs for the exploration of the Moon are developed by state organizations that receive money from the budget of their country, and private ones. As for the latter, the regiment arrived the other day - Jeff Bezos decided to take care of the Moon.
And we are not talking about lunar rovers, but about a
managed mission that Blue Origin plans to send to a natural satellite of the Earth. The project of the Moon exploration was named “Blue Moon”. The company announced the project itself a little later than it began to be realized - now there are already certain developments.
It is worth noting that earlier Bezos and his staff had already submitted for general discussion the possibility of mastering the moon by the forces of a private company.
In the course of implementing the Blue Moon project, the company plans to establish a small colony, which will still allow the expansion to begin at least to near-space objects. A representative of Blue Origin said that the Blue Moon program is a first step in ensuring that astronauts land on the moon, not only for US astronauts, but also for potential customers from other countries.
In order for people to live on the moon, they must have constant communication with the Earth. And the planet, in turn, should be able to deliver tons of cargo to the surface of the moon. Otherwise, the colony will not be built. If everything turns out, Earth scientists will be able to study the Moon in detail, including its resources, surface characteristics and much more.
By the way, the year 2023 will come in just five years, the wait is quite short. This is a very short time to accomplish such an ambitious goal as the establishment of a colony of people on the moon. Naturally, all this requires huge funds. The company plans to request them from international and American partners, including NASA.
“Blue Moon is already firmly established in our plans for the future. Due to the scale of the project, as well as the desire to cooperate with the government, we have already made some progress in implementing our plans. It seems to me that we will succeed, thanks in large part to the fact that one of our partners is NASA, ”a Blue Origin spokesman said.
As for the agency itself, it has long been the various plans that provide for landing a man on the moon. Including, with the aim of creating a colony. Lenders who can deliver several tons of cargo to the moon are already being developed. NASA plans to introduce them in 2020. And this, by the way, correlates very well with the deadlines set by Blue Origin. Most likely, the agency and the Bezos company are already planning to work together on one big project.
In the next few years, Blue Origin wants to
realize a lot of interesting things. The company plans to carry out, in particular, such works:
- The launch of the space tourism program, the flight of the sub-orbital ship New Shepard by the end of this year;
- Development of a BE-4 engine operating on liquefied methane;
- The development of the orbital rocket New Glenn, for which the engines are created, which are discussed above. The first launch is scheduled for 2020. Moreover, some companies are already agreeing with Freight about freightage of cargo for delivery to orbit in 2020 or a little later.
Blue Origin staff already includes about one and a half thousand employees. Two years ago there were about seven hundred. More than 230 vacancies are open on the company's website, that is, the staff is going to expand significantly in the near future. Among other specialties there is a dispatcher, an astronaut training director, and others.
As for the nearest plans, the start of the work of the space tourism program, the cost of the ticket has not yet been announced. But soon the company promised to indicate the price.
Where does the company get money for development? In 2017, Jeff Bezos
announced that every year he sells Amazon shares worth approximately $ 1 billion. He invests the funds he received in Blue Origin. And if Ilon Mask develops his company with the money of shareholders and customers, then Bezos provides the funds himself. And this is good, because the "financial pillow" allows you to systematically develop Blue Origin. Bezos will have enough money for a long time - his fortune is estimated at about $ 72 billion. This means that the company can be financed throughout Bezos’s life and even more.