Market Data 
- Technologist Lane Bess reflects on his two Blue Origin space trips.
- Bess said each trip renewed his sense of what matters in life.
- He called for more visionary investments in space technology and exploration.
This is an as-told-to conversation with tech industry veteran Lane Bess. He founded Bess Ventures and is CEO of Deep Instinct, a deep learning-powered cybersecurity company. He is also the chairman of Blaize AI, the former CEO of Palo Alto Networks, and the former COO of Zscaler. He does not have financial ties to Blue Origin.
I’ve been to space twice in about three years. Each time, I’ve returned with a renewed sense of what matters in life.
I took my first trip in December 2021 and my second this past February. Each flight was just 10 minutes long, but Earth looks completely different when you take off and when you land.
I came back this time with several questions about the state of our world. Since my first trip, war has escalated. I thought this then — and still do now — the only limitation to what humanity can achieve is our ability to get along with one another.
What I see instead is a thirst for power, a change in how people see politics, and people compromising the founding ideas of our constitutional forefathers for things that just advantage one country over another.
US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping shouldn’t be the only three people on Earth who have a say in how the rest of humanity lives their lives.
All of this might make you think we should find another place to go because we’re going to mess this up. We won’t colonize Mars anytime soon, but maybe it has to start now.
A lifetime curiosity
I’ve been fascinated by rockets since I was a child. Even before I was a teenager, I remember going to the local hobby store — where I’d have to lie about my age — to buy these model rocket engines (which were obviously flammable). It’s a passion I grew to share with my son, Cameron, who also accompanied me on my first space trip.
Years later, it became possible for civilians to go to space. Fortunately, by then, I had made great exits from my previous cybersecurity companies, Palo Alto Networks and Zscaler, so I could afford to bid on a Blue Origin seat in an auction. I had also been looking into investing in space technology through my family office, Bess Ventures.
In 2021, right before Thanksgiving, Blue Origin’s operations and civilian sales director contacted me about joining its third flight. I was contacted again in January of this year when a seat opened on the 10th flight.
I can’t disclose exactly how much my latest trip cost, but it was in the millions. It’s clear my five fellow passengers also had good financial outcomes in life. Richard Scott is a reproductive endocrinologist who sold his reproductive medicine group, IVIRMA, to private equity firm KKR. Elaine Chia Hyde, a physicist, pilot, and founder of the media company Chicago Star and the only woman on the trip, had been saving for years to do something like this.
We spent about two and a half days in classroom training before takeoff. Unlike astronauts who prepare for longer orbital trips, we spent no time training in a centrifuge or swimming in a tank to understand weightlessness. This was more about learning the engineering behind the rocket so you know how safe it is. Up until two and a half minutes before they pull the gangplank, though, you can bail out.
Before takeoff we get into the designated crew capsule of the rocket. For the first five to seven seconds, you don’t feel much movement because the engine is igniting. You have earpieces to soften the sound of the engine, but you still hear a lot of banging. Then, the capsule is ejected into the air.
In two and a half minutes, you’re crossing the Kármán line, and you start to realize how thin and fragile the Earth’s atmosphere is. By then, you’re also weightless. I used my GoPro to get a shot of the view.
The ascent is smooth, but the descent can get bumpy. You’re pulled into your seat with such a high gravitational acceleration that you can’t physically move — let alone take a deep breath.
Once we landed, our families were there to welcome us. We had a Champagne toast and took in the fact that we were one of a few hundred civilians that had ventured into space.
Billionaires for space travel
I first interacted with Jeff Bezos’ company Amazon back in the nineties when I was a product manager launching AT&T’s internet business and Amazon was launching book sales online.
I wouldn’t say we’re close friends, but I know him well enough to say he’s sincere in his commitment to space and science. At his ranch, he once told me he feels blessed that his businesses have generated enough wealth that he can really think about things that most people just won’t think about.
There are thousands of billionaires in the world, but only a dozen or so who put their money into really forward looking things. I guess every generation needs a few of those.
