Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chairman of Amazon is “very optimistic” about the future of Blue Origin, his space business, under the coming Donald Trump presidency, he told news agency Reuters in an interview on January 12. He was also not concerned about Elon Musk’s influence on Trump’s space agenda, the report said.

United States President-elect Trump, is set to take office on January 20. Blue Origin is Bezos’ space exploration and rocket company which rivals Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, among other private sector players.

‘Optimistic’ About Space Agenda Under Donald Trump

Adding that he has not yet spoken to Trump about the space business, Bezos said he is optimistic the industry will thrive under the incoming US President, the report added. He also expressed confidence in Musk.

On whether Mars or the Moon would take top priority, he said he believes the US should not prioritize going to Mars instead of the Moon, but should do both.

‘Trusts’ Elon Musk Won’t ‘Undercut’ Competition

Further, the billionaire and world’s second richest man added that he “trusts” Musk (the world’s richest person), to not use his position in the Trump administration for personal gain or to undercut Blue Origin, the report added.

“Elon has been very clear that he’s doing this for the public interest and not for his personal gain. And I take him at face value,” Bezos told the publication.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket Set for Launch

Blue Origin’s maiden orbital voyage with rocket New Glenn — named after astronaut John Glenn — is scheduled to take off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 1 am (11.30 am IST) on January 13, as per an AFP report. 

New Glenn stands 320 feet (98 meters) tall or around the height of a 32-storey building. The mission, being called NG-1, will see Bezos take Musk’s success with SpaceX head-on.

“SpaceX has for the past several years been pretty much the only game in town, and so having a competitor… this is great,” G. Scott Hubbard, a retired senior NASA official, told AFP.

Meanwhile, keeping the competitive spirit high, SpaceX is also planning the next orbital test of its new generation Starship rocket this week.

(With inputs from Reuters and AFP)