It’s easy to scoff at Branson and Bezos – but like it or not, the space travel era is here

Flying to nowhere when so many are in need, it’s easy to see why these rich boys with their expensive toys have got people’s backs up. But people who had horses probably said the same about cars, writes Katy Brand

With no astronaut training to speak of and no particular qualifications, Jeff Bezos has gone into space and come back down again (Blue Origin)

So the world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, bought himself a place in space. And the history books. It was a few days later but also a little higher than our own Richard Branson’s effort, who also took his rocket to the upper atmosphere on the very day nobody was paying any attention, due to several major sporting events and a general sense of malaise about the whole endeavour.

Because, as many have pointed out, it does all rather feel like very rich boys and their very expensive toys. When you add Elon Musk into the mix, with his SpaceX programme, there is a sense that these wealthy men, who have carved up the earth to their advantage, are now racing to get into orbit so they can sell space back to us too. It seems to a lot of people view it as an indulgent and insulting way to spend all that money – flying into nowhere when so many are in need right here on earth.

And I see this point, and feel it too. To cap it all, these are not the most likeable men on our home planet, and efforts at creating good PR around the blast off dates fell rather flat. But I’m not sure I can wholly go along with the comprehensive trashing these projects have received. Musk’s money and partnership with NASA is genuinely bringing the costs of space travel down by an extraordinary amount because of his research into reusable rockets that can land back on earth after a mission, rather than getting destroyed.

As for Branson and Bezos, once you get past the inherent ridiculousness of the pair of them (cowboy hat? No thank you), they have both done something quite striking – they have no astronaut training to speak of, no particular qualifications, and yet they have both gone into space and come back down again.

Yes, it’s easy to scoff, and trust me, I have. But who knows what will endure when it is happening now? When the first car was built there were those who couldn’t see the point because everyone already had horses. And why would anyone need a computer, for god’s sake? It will never catch on.

We are not always good at predicting the future. But I think, like it or not, this is quite seriously the beginning of a new space travel era. And like them or not, Bezos, Branson and Musk have just written themselves into it. But don’t worry – you don’t have to thank them. They’ll do that themselves.