Listen Now: The New Space Race

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The original space race was between the U.S. and Russia, today it’s between billionaires. I’m Brian Banmiller on Business.

The last time man went to the moon was in 1972.  The richest man in the world was oil tycoon John Paul Getty. NASA sent three men and five mice into orbit on a Saturn five rocket. Now we’re going back and the person chosen by NASA to carry astronauts safely out of orbit is billionaire Elon Musk. His company Space-x was granted a two point nine billion dollar contract to build the next spacecraft for a launch as early as twenty 2024. It was picked over Amazon’s Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Company and the defense contractor Dynetics Inc. In making its decision NASA said the space-x starship included a spacious cabin and two airlocks for astronaut moon walks. Its architecture is intended to evolve to a fully reusable launch and landing system designed for travel to the moon, mars and other space destinations. The next launch is part of the Artemis program, aiming to carry two American astronauts and land them safely on the moon. Godspeed. Brian Banmiller, CBS News.

About Brian

CBS News Radio national business journalist Brian Banmiller has spent more than 40 years in the news industry, covering business, politics and the economy on television, radio and in print. Currently, his “Banmiller on Business” reports are delivered to an audience of millions nationwide.