London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Dec 10, 2025

NASA 'keeping eye' on Jeff Bezos and other space astronaut billionaires

NASA 'keeping eye' on Jeff Bezos and other space astronaut billionaires

Worth $177B, Bezos is the world's richest man; Musk is second at $151B

With Billionaire Jeff Bezos weeks away from lifting off in his own Blue Origin rocket, along with his brother Mark and a mystery passenger who paid $28 million to be onboard, NASA has a message: Space is not going to be the wild-west for billionaires or anyone else looking to blast off.

"I'm keeping my eye on it, but they're going to have to meet the same rigorous physical and psychological examination for any other professional astronaut," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told FOX Business exclusively. "We want the crew that's already up there on the space station to be safe when they have visitors and you should expect nothing less."

Nelson speaks from experience. In 1986 he became the first member of the House of Representatives to travel into space, serving as a Payload Specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia.

While it is unclear exactly what NASA will do to regulate space travel, it's evident that some type of oversight is under review. In Congress, lawmakers are also exploring what the FAA’s role will be in the future of spaceflight. But the clock is ticking for bureaucrats as these billionaires scramble to one-up each other.



The Amazon founder's flight, which is pegged for July 20, prompted a tease from rival space billionaire Richard Branson via Twitter.


"Many congratulations to @JeffBezos & his brother Mark on announcing spaceflight plans. Jeff started building @blueorigin in 2000, we started building @virgingalacticin 2004 & now both are opening up access to Space - how extraordinary! Watch this space…"


A report in Parobolic Air suggested that Branson wants to leapfrog Bezos.

Sir Richard Branson helps show off Virgin Galactic's new Under Armour spacewear.


FOX Business' inquiries to Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic were not returned.


Tesla founder Elon Musk's SpaceX has already overseen several successful missions after it became the first private company to fly NASA astronauts into space last year.

Next stop, the moon. NASA awarded the company a $2.9B contract to land Americans on the moon for the first time since 1972.


Musk and Bezos have traded jabs over their respective space arms, with Musk in April mocking Bezos after he challenged NASA to pick SpaceX for the lunar landing contract.


Musk said in a Twitter post that Bezos couldn’t "get it up" to orbit.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK Officials Push Back at Trump Saying European Leaders ‘Talk Too Much’ About Ukraine
UK Warns of Escalating Cyber Assault Linked to Putin’s State-Backed Operations
UK Consumer Spending Falters in November as Households Hold Back Ahead of Budget
UK Orders Fresh Review of Prince Harry’s Security Status After Formal Request
U.S. Authorises Nvidia to Sell H200 AI Chips to China Under Security Controls
Trump in Direct Assault: European Leaders Are Weak, Immigration a Disaster. Russia Is Strong and Big — and Will Win
"App recommendation" or disguised advertisement? ChatGPT Premium users are furious
"The Great Filtering": Australia Blocks Hundreds of Thousands of Minors From Social Networks
Mark Zuckerberg Pulls Back From Metaverse After $70 Billion Loss as Meta Shifts Priorities to AI
Nvidia CEO Says U.S. Data-Center Builds Take Years while China ‘Builds a Hospital in a Weekend’
Indian Airports in Turmoil as IndiGo Cancels Over a Thousand Flights, Stranding Thousands
Hollywood Industry on Edge as Netflix Secures Near-$60 Bln Loan for Warner Bros Takeover
Drugs and Assassinations: The Connection Between the Italian Mafia and Football Ultras
Hollywood megadeal: Netflix acquires Warner Bros. Discovery for 83 billion dollars
The Disregard for a Europe ‘in Danger of Erasure,’ the Shift Toward Russia: Trump’s Strategic Policy Document
Two and a Half Weeks After the Major Outage: A Cloudflare Malfunction Brings Down Multiple Sites
UK data-regulator demands urgent clarity on racial bias in police facial-recognition systems
Labour Uses Biscuits to Explain UK Debt — MPs Lean Into Social Media to Reach New Audiences
German President Lays Wreath at Coventry as UK-Germany Reaffirm Unity Against Russia’s Threat
UK Inquiry Finds Putin ‘Morally Responsible’ for 2018 Novichok Death — London Imposes Broad Sanctions on GRU
India backs down on plan to mandate government “Sanchar Saathi” app on all smartphones
King Charles Welcomes German President Steinmeier to UK in First State Visit by Berlin in 27 Years
UK Plans Major Cutback to Jury Trials as Crown Court Backlog Nears 80,000
UK Government to Significantly Limit Jury Trials in England and Wales
U.S. and U.K. Seal Drug-Pricing Deal: Britain Agrees to Pay More, U.S. Lifts Tariffs
UK Postpones Decision Yet Again on China’s Proposed Mega-Embassy in London
Head of UK Budget Watchdog Resigns After Premature Leak of Reeves’ Budget Report
Car-sharing giant Zipcar to exit UK market by end of 2025
Reports of Widespread Drone Deployment Raise Privacy and Security Questions in the UK
UK Signals Security Concerns Over China While Pursuing Stronger Trade Links
Google warns of AI “irrationality” just as Gemini 3 launch rattles markets
Top Consultancies Freeze Starting Salaries as AI Threatens ‘Pyramid’ Model
Macron Says Washington Pressuring EU to Delay Enforcement of Digital-Regulation Probes Against Meta, TikTok and X
UK’s DragonFire Laser Downs High-Speed Drones as £316m Deal Speeds Naval Deployment
UK Chancellor Rejects Claims She Misled Public on Fiscal Outlook Ahead of Budget
Starmer Defends Autumn Budget as Finance Chief Faces Accusations of Misleading Public Finances
EU Firms Struggle with 3,000-Hour Paperwork Load — While Automakers Fear De Facto 2030 Petrol Car Ban
White House launches ‘Hall of Shame’ site to publicly condemn media outlets for alleged bias
UK Budget’s New EV Mileage Tax Undercuts Case for Plug-In Hybrids
UK Government Launches National Inquiry into ‘Grooming Gangs’ After US Warning and Rising Public Outcry
Taylor Swift Extends U.K. Chart Reign as ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ Hits Six Weeks at No. 1
250 Still Missing in the Massive Fire, 94 Killed. One Day After the Disaster: Survivor Rescued on the 16th Floor
Trump: National Guard Soldier Who Was Shot in Washington Has Died; Second Soldier Fighting for His Life
UK Chancellor Reeves Defends Tax Rises as Essential to Reduce Child Poverty and Stabilise Public Finances
No Evidence Found for Claim That UK Schools Are Shifting to Teaching American English
European Powers Urge Israel to Halt West Bank Settler Violence Amid Surge in Attacks
"I Would Have Given Her a Kidney": She Lent Bezos’s Ex-Wife $1,000 — and Received Millions in Return
European States Approve First-ever Military-Grade Surveillance Network via ESA
UK to Slash Key Pension Tax Perk, Targeting High Earners Under New Budget
UK Government Announces £150 Annual Cut to Household Energy Bills Through Levy Reforms
×