Jeff Bezos Outlines Blue Origin’s Next Launches and Bold Vision for Space Living

<img decoding="async" class="size-full-width wp-image-1591832" src="https://observer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/10/GettyImages-2238717515.jpg?quality=80&w=970" alt="Man in blue button up shirt sits onstage" width="970" height="647" data-caption='Jeff Bezos speaking on Oct. 3 at Italian Tech Week 2025. <span class=”media-credit”>Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images</span>’>

What was once fiction could soon become reality, according to Jeff Bezos, who painted a picture of a world straight out of a sci-fi novella while discussing his space ambitions at Italian Tech Week 2025. In the not-too-distant future, space will be a viable destination for humans, robot workers and key infrastructure alike, said the Amazon founder.

“In the next couple of decades, I believe there will be millions of people living in space—that’s how fast this is going to accelerate,” said Bezos. They won’t be doing so because they have to, but because “they want to,” noted the billionaire, who predicted that any work required in space will soon be easily accomplished by robots rather than humans.

Bezos, currently the world’s fourth richest person with an estimated net worth of $232 billion, is best known for founding Amazon. But in 2021, he stepped away from the company in part to focus on Blue Origin, the space venture he founded more than two decades ago that competes directly with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Earlier this year, Blue Origin reached a pivotal milestone when the successful launch of its New Glenn rocket marked the first time one of the company’s vehicles entered orbital space. The company is now preparing for a second launch of the 320-foot-tall rocket—expected either at the end of October or early November—that will carry two NASA spacecraft to Mars, said Bezos.

While largely successful, the first New Glenn mission failed to land its booster on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean—a goal that was always far-fetched, as reflected by the booster’s nickname, “So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance.” Blue Origin will attempt the feat again during its upcoming mission with a booster named “Never Tell Me the Odds.”

Shooting for the Moon

A third New Glenn launch is expected in 2026, when Blue Origin plans to send its Blue Moon Mark 1 lander to the lunar surface. The company is also developing a larger hydrogen-powered lander for NASA’s Artemis Program, according to Bezos.

Unlike Mars missions, which have limited launch windows, the Moon can be visited at any time and only takes a few days to travel to. “The Moon is a gift from the universe,” said Bezos, who noted that its low gravitational field and energy efficiency could make it an ideal rocket fuel depot.

Beyond predicting that millions will one day live in space, Bezos also foresees a surge in orbital data centers over the next couple of decades. Given that solar power can theoretically be harnessed 24/7 in space, the cost of building such infrastructure will be lower than “terrestrial” data centers, said Bezos. It wouldn’t be the first time space has improved life on Earth, he added, “It’s already happened with weather satellites, it’s already happened with communication satellites—the next step is going to be data centers and other kinds of manufacturing.”

For now, Blue Origin’s growing ambitions are enough to keep Bezos occupied. “I’m the least retired person in the world, and I will never retire because work is too much fun,” he said.