If we drive down the cost of transportation in space, we can do great things.
I just felt that space was the next thing coming in aviation. It was higher, faster. It had the risk.
I am excited to think that the development of commercial capabilities to send humans into low Earth orbit will likely result in so many more Earthlings being able to experience the transformative power of space flight.
Claiming that solid rockets are necessary for a heavy-lift launcher is obvious nonsense.
The unique thing about Stratolaunch - one of the unique things - is it doesn't require a fixed launchpad.
What I'm trying to do is, is to make a significant difference in space flight. And help make space flight accessible to almost anyone.
I think that somebody with the resources and innovation and the idea is going to come out of nowhere and come up with a successful space travel program.
My work at MIT had focused on what we could build in space once we had inexpensive space transportation and industrial facilities in orbit. And this led to various sorts of work in space development.
The space industry is developing and delivering benefits that tie into our immediate needs and priorities here on Earth-for example, medical and materials research, and satellite communications.
One example of an upcoming need for downmass - the ability to transport material from space to the Earth - is space manufacturing.
We're taking all of the lessons that we have from New Shepard and incorporating them into New Glenn.
We should not have assumed that a political space station could be built.
The big reason why we don't have space colonies and regular trips to the moon is that flying into outer space is just plain 'hard.' The business of safely transporting people off the Earth is a costly affair that requires a lot of technology.
Space architectures capable of supporting a permanent human presence on Mars are extraordinarily complex, with many different interdependent systems.
The strategic objective of New Shepard is to practice, and a lot of the subcomponents of New Shepard actually get directly reused on the second stage of New Glenn.
As a member of the House Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, I am a firm believer in the American space program.
Well, it's still a bit uncertain, but I will do the consulting, and I'll see how I can contribute. But I'm sure whatever I do will involve the space program. That's where my passion is.
