Bezos: Critics of billionaires’ ‘joyrides’ to space ‘largely right’

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says critics are right to complain about billionaires taking taking “joy rides” into space a day before his own trip into orbit.

During an appearance on CNN’s “New Day,” host Rachel Crone asked Bezos about the criticism that he and other billionaires are going to space to escape the problems of Earth. 

Bezos answered by saying he agrees with the criticism and that people need to also focus on earthly problems.

CNN interviews Jeff Bezos and his crew – 24 hours before they launch into space!!

82 yo Wally Funk will be on board, after a half-century of waiting for this moment

“She’s still outperforming all the men at 82 yo,” says Bezos. “She can outrun all of us.” @RachCrane pic.twitter.com/uHs3isfaaN

— Brianna Keilar (@brikeilarcnn) July 19, 2021

“Well, I say they’re largely right. We have to do both,” Bezos said. “We have lots of problems here and now on Earth and we need to work on those, and we always need to look to the future. We’ve always done that as a species, as a civilization. We have to do both.”

The remarks were reported earlier by Mediaite.

Bezos implied that his space company’s mission is to practice operational space travel, which can lead to it being comparable to airline travel in the future.

Bezos’s Blue Origin New Shepard Mission is set to launch in Texas on Tuesday, on the same day of the famed moon landing by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. 

Blue Origin’s launch follows Virgin Atlantic’s own space launch on July 11, when Richard Branson beat out Bezos to become the first billionaire to go into space.