Episode 163: The Billionaire Space Race

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Paige: You are listening to “Coffee with Gringos.” I'm Paige Sutherland.

Ian: And I'm Ian Kennedy.

Paige: And today we are going to be talking about space. We're going to be talking about how in 2021 it is possible for civilians to go to space, which seems crazy thinking back decades ago, but that is all thanks to billionaires across the world who are funding all these programs. Space tourism is actually a thing now of the future, which is crazy to think about. So, me and Ian are just going to talk about that industry a little bit and our likes and dislikes of going to space. So, as always, check out that audio guide and transcript online at www.dynamicenglish.cl. Okay, Ian—just to start off, what are your thoughts on space? Is space something that fascinates you? Do you love Star Wars? Do you love Star Trek? Or you’re like take it or leave it?

Ian: I love space. I think it's fascinating, but I think more in a sense of the astronomy of things. I took a class in college on astronomy. I mean, it was just totally amazing. It's so fascinating. Because of that experience, I also read a book—a really well-known book—called “Cosmos” by Carl Sagan—the famous astronomer—and it's an amazing book. And I think in that way, I'm very interested in a sense. Of course, I like some of those movies, but I'm not a huge sci-fi guy, necessarily science fiction. But the idea of space itself is amazing to try to wrap your head around. So, of course. Who couldn't be interested in it?

Paige: Fair. I would say for me, personally similar to you. I like the stars. I think I'm fascinated by how small space makes us feel. We're here on this planet that's one of many planets that's in the solar system that's part of what? So, I think all of that is really mind-blowing to think about and pretty cool. So, I'm fascinated by that but actually, a desire to go to space has never been something I wanted to do. I mean, it seems scary, it's dark, it's unknown. You have no idea what's out there. There's no gravity. It just feels very dangerous. So, I have no interest in space tourism. Many people do. I feel like many people if there wasn't a cost barrier, would love the opportunity to go to space. What about you?

Ian: Yeah, for me, my life is just too valuable to think that I would let myself be one of the first people to go up there. I think it's one of those things that once it is perfected, or almost perfected to the point where it's as safe as flying in an airplane is today, then I would be willing to try it out. But no, I'm not risky enough of a person to be like, “Alright, shoot me up into space.” And luck would have it, I would probably be the one dipshit that blows up in space on the first flight so, I think I'll let people try it out and then if everything looks okay and safe, then I'll buy my ticket, but not before.

Paige: I know. It is interesting, because now just doing a little Google research, there are about three or four billionaires that have their own space programs that have built space rockets that have gone to space. Which to me is crazy that we’re there. That we’re there that these private companies can just go to space. It's not NASA, it's not through the government or through a science program, but it also makes me mad that these people are billionaires and using their money as toys just to go to space and you're like, oh, if we took all those billions of dollars and maybe provided free health care to Americans or free college or just real social issues that we are lacking funds for, but we invest to just go on an adventure in space.

Ian: Right, we're like, it'd be nice maybe if these huge corporations and billionaires paid a little bit more a fair share of their tax but instead, they get to build rockets and shoot them into space. Anyway, we could get into the whole thing with that. But yeah, this billionaire space race, it's really something else, right? I mean, you have this rivalry among mostly tech entrepreneurs, who, like we've said, they have this desire, I guess, to show themselves off and get their rockets into space. And it's funny because you have Jeff Bezos, who is the richest man in the world. He's the founder of Amazon. He has his company Blue Origin. Then you have Richard Branson. He's the Virgin Galactic founder and he has his program. Then you have Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and PayPal. He has SpaceX, and he actually has sights to colonize Mars. So, I mean, we have multiple guys here who are putting all this money into the aerospace industry and I think it's cool and I don't really have a big problem with it, because it's technically their money that can do what they want with it. But yeah, it is strange that we're living in a pandemic, a lot of people economically are worse off than they've ever been in their lives and these guys are wearing their cowboy hat and the Rolex and talking about how they're going to shoot into space. And just a couple of days ago, I believe, Jeff Bezos took William Shatner—the famous actor who played Captain Kirk on Star Trek—up on a commercial flight and they came back safely and he talked about it and it's just a wild thing to see going on, especially during this time in history, like I said, with the pandemic, but here we are. We’ve got private space companies, commercial flights up to space. When we say space, it's technically important called the ionosphere so, it's in between the Earth's atmosphere and space. So, a lot of people try to pull out the technicalities there, but nonetheless, we're getting closer and closer just to normal space travel.

Paige: Hey, Ian. Did you know besides the podcast, Dynamic English offers one-on-one classes with native teachers from all over the world?

Ian: Really? But isn't it just a bunch of grammar lessons?

Paige: Nope, it's completely discussion-based and focuses on topics the student is interested in.

Ian: That's amazing. But what if I'm not living in Chile?

Paige: No problem. Dynamic does online classes so you can be living anywhere.

Ian: Great, but I'm a little intimidated to take the class alone. Can I join with a friend?

Paige: Of course. Dynamic offers group classes of up to four. Plus, for the next month, Coffee with Gringos listeners get 10% off individual or group classes. So go online to www.dynamicenglish.cl and mention that you are a listener and get your discount.

Ian: Well, I'm sold. Sign me up.

Paige: Yeah, again, it's so crazy to think our parents were alive when the first man walked on the moon which was momentous. That was such a big achievement and to think in that same lifetime, like you said, you have these random rich guys that are just going up there and like way above the earth. It’s, I guess, just crazy the advancements and technology in just those few decades are pretty crazy. Sadly, with climate change, some of these billionaires are thinking, “Oh well, if this planet blows up, I can just hop on my rocket ship and go live in another one.” I don't know much about this topic, but I feel like that's really far off and unrealistic that we would be able to live somewhere else. I mean, maybe, if you're trying to just float around in your spaceship, but I don't know. What do you think about the idea of living on Mars? It just doesn't seem like we're there yet.

Ian: No, I definitely don't think we're there yet but, like you said, it's pretty startling to see these technological advances and these breakthroughs that we have, especially with space since 1969 when the first man supposedly landed on the moon and so, it's so interesting to see and think what could happen if this exponentially keeps speeding up this rate of technology? So, I think it's still pretty far off. Maybe not in our lifetime for you and me, but maybe a couple of generations or before it could be a reality. And personally, I'm not interested in living in space. I'm pretty happy with Earth. It's pretty nice here. What about you? Would you want to take that leap and go live in space?

Paige: No, I have no interest. I mean, I don't want to go into space, let alone live there. It's funny, I'm reading this article now where Branson's company, Virgin Galactic, is starting commercial passenger flights to space in 2022—so next year. And the price is between two hundred to two hundred fifty-thousand (dollars) per passenger.

Ian: Oh, that's chump change. Cheap.

Paige: Yeah, I mean, it makes sense that it's very expensive to go to space but it's a quarter-million dollars. I don't know how long it would be—probably like an hour? I mean, it's probably a quick flight based on how fast they have to go.

Ian: Yeah, you can't be up there for that long, I can't imagine. It's probably a pretty quick trip up and then back so, it's certainly going to be the most expensive flight you ever had. I just think it's also interesting as well how this has moved from government departments or more public sector funding for space travel, how it's moved to almost entirely private sector now. NASA, I don't even hear hardly about NASA anymore. The US space program used to be so prominent and so well-known and it just seems like they've stalled and gone stagnant. I know there's really not much funding for it, but it's an amazing thing to see that is has moved private. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. I think advancement is good and in either way. It's just an interesting thing. You would think this would be something important for governments, but it's really the onus—not even the onus—the interest is falling on these billionaires instead.  

Paige: Yeah, I mean, I think it, unfortunately, came to cost. The government has to pay for so many programs that when you're making cuts, it makes sense that bringing people to space isn't a priority over infrastructure and health care and education, all those kinds of things. So, yeah, it is nice that private companies can fill that but I would hope that the money is going a little bit more towards advancements in science or something positive as opposed to tourism, which is just creating another profit business. But who knows? It seems like it's going in a tourism kind of direction.

Ian: Yeah, if I had to guess, I would say it's going right towards tourism, especially if you have the private sector running things. They're going to be thinking about space hotels, space museums, space attractions. I'm serious, I've read some things about talks about space hotels being developed so people can fly up and spend time up there. So, if you look at a business sense of things, the potential is untapped. There is so much potential to have space tourism and it's going to be interesting to see, that's for sure.

Paige: I didn't think of that. That would be pretty crazy that you could build like you said, a hotel or a museum or something that you could go to in space. I think that would be pretty cool. It feels like a movie. It feels out of this world—literally.

Ian: Real-life Jetsons.

Paige: Yeah, but like you said, I think the advancements have happened so quickly that it could be in the next ten to twenty years that we really to have this space hotel. At this rate, it seems like it actually could be possible. Listeners out there, start saving your pennies—two hundred to two hundred fifty-thousand dollars and you could go to space next year. So, save up and as always, listeners, if you get lost, check out that guide at www.dynamicenglish.cl. As always, thanks for listening.

Ian: We'll see you next time.

Paige: Coffee with Gringos was brought to you by Dynamic English, where you can learn English simply by using it. If you're interested in taking classes or just want to learn more, go to our website at dynamicenglish.cl. Thanks for listening.

Key Vocabulary, Phrases & Slang:

 1.     to fascinate (verb): to attract the interest and attention of someone.

a.     The topic of space always fascinates me.

2.     to wrap one’s head around (idiom): to understand something well.

a.     It is difficult to wrap your head around how big space is.

3.     mind-blowing (adjective): incredibly impressive.

a.     The advancements in technology are mind-blowing.

4.     dipshit (noun, slang): a foolish or unintelligent person.

a.     I feel like a dipshit whenever I don’t remember to turn off the light.

5.     NASA (noun, acronym): National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The government space organization of the United States.

a.     NASA has lost a lot of funding and therefore, many private companies have been making the recent advances.

6.     entrepreneur (noun): someone who creates and operates a business.

a.     Jeff Bezos is one of the world’s most famous entrepreneurs.

7.     chump change (noun): a small or insignificant amount of money.

a.     The costs of flying to space will be chump change for the billionaires.

8.     prominent (adjective): important; well-known.

a.     He is a very prominent businessman who is investing in space.

9.     onus (noun, Latin): duty or responsibility.

a.     The onus is now on the private sector for space travel.

10.  untapped (adjective): not yet exploited or used.

a.     Space tourism is an untapped industry.