Jeff Bezos Wants You to Think He’s Elon Musk—But He’s Not Even Close

The American public deserves better for its money.

by Craig Bergman
October 24, 2024

In a classic case of “fake it ‘til you make it,” Jeff Bezos is trying to pull off a SpaceX-style stunt with his latest booster landings. Yes, his company Blue Origin just managed to stick the landing of a booster, but don’t be fooled by the sleight of hand.

This isn’t the beginning of some new era of space exploration. It’s an overpriced carnival ride, packaged to look like serious spacefaring ambition, but in reality, it’s nothing more than glorified high-altitude tourism for bored billionaires.

Let’s be clear: New Glenn and its predecessor New Shepard are not spacecraft. They are expensive toys that can’t get anywhere near space in any meaningful sense. Unlike SpaceX’s fleet of reusable rockets that routinely carry people, cargo, and satellites into orbit (and yes, even to the International Space Station), Blue Origin’s craft are incapable of such feats.

They don’t put satellites into orbit, they don’t ferry cargo to the ISS, and they certainly aren’t ca…