{
  "id": 14200419,
  "title": "<em>The Atlantic</em>’s November Cover: Josh Tyrangiel Profiles Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk on Their Race to Control Outer Space—And Measures Who Is Ahead",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/em-the-atlantic-em-s-november-cover-josh-tyrangiel-profiles-jeff",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-13T12:22:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Atlantic",
    "slug": "the-atlantic",
    "url": "https://www.theatlantic.com/press-releases/2026/10/the-atlantics-november-cover-story-by-josh-tyrangiel/688976/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In The Atlantic's November cover story, \"Choose Your Overlord,\" staff writer Josh Tyrangiel profiles Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk as they race to control outer space. The two billionaires are in the early stages of a fierce competition that involves rockets, moon landings, huge satellite constellations, and space-based data centers running AI models. Both claim their goals are to preserve human life from climate change and expand mankind's understanding of the universe. Tyrangiel notes that both would also like to dominate a market with no ceiling and few established rules.\n\nThroughout history, the power to decide a civilization's future has normally been held by governments, monarchs, or despots. However, according to Tyrangiel, a retail executive from Seattle and a South African-born engineer are now well-positioned to exercise this power. While nobody voted for either of them, they may be the only ones capable of checking each other's power. In 2025, Musk's SpaceX launched 83% of the mass sent into orbit, significantly more than its nearest competitor, the Chinese government. Starlink, Musk's satellite company, has 11,000-plus satellites, accounting for roughly two-thirds of all active spacecraft orbiting Earth. This dominance raises concerns about the Founders' intentions, as America may need Bezos's private power to mitigate Musk's own dominance.\n\nWhen asked about trusting either man completely, Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, replied, \"Kind of a loaded question.\" He expressed a pragmatic view, stating he wants SpaceX to continue being successful for national-security interests and also desires Blue Origin to succeed. Tyrangiel writes that the pragmatist's position, shared by most in the national-security community, is that one company capable of getting into space is better than none, and two is better than one. However, even if Bezos is the less mercurial billionaire, Blue Origin is not yet a reliable substitute for SpaceX. In this race to the moon, most people interviewed concluded that Blue Origin is ahead. Its Blue Moon project has completed thermal-vacuum testing, with structure, propulsion, and avionics fully assembled, already communicating with NASA's satellites and deep-space network. Blue Origin's smaller size and need for a win may have led to building a product that fits the brief, while Musk's Starship, designed for his satellite business and personal goal of deep-space travel to Mars, is less suitable for lunar missions.",
  "summary": "“They may be the only ones who can check the other’s power.”",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}