The Modern Space Race: SpaceX v. Blue Origin

In honor of ‘Space Exploration Day’ we’re taking a look at the modern day Space Race between billionaire entrepreneurs Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos.SpaceX and Blue Origin are private aerospace companies racing to make interplanetary travel possible for the world’s population. Unlike the Cold War era Space Race, which was a competition between nations, the billionaire backers believe they are on a global mission to save humanity. SpaceX and Blue Origin are built on the belief that Earth has an expiry date. With that looming threat in mind, they are working to facilitate a space-faring civilization for the future.Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, believes, “catastrophic global warming or some as-yet-unknown technology could spell the end of us,” and has publicly revealed his ambitions to colonize Mars within the next 50 to 100 years.Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin predicts to have their first interplanetary commercial flight by 2018. This is the first step to his long-term vision of millions of people living and working in space. Credit: Various via Storyful