Rye -
It 's a nice gesture, and of course it is a publicity stunt.
But Since you asked -
the implication is that Bezos did it not just as publicity stunt but to attract positive attention,
in order to divert attention from the company's alleged toxic workplace, reports of safety problems,
and pushing to make higher flight numbers at the risk of reported safety concerns.
Bezos is well known for putting profit and numbers ahead of safety and putting his public image
ahead of workers health and safety. His corporate policy is to harass and fire anyone who
rocks the boat ... such as complaining about documented sexual harassment, complaining about the need
for realistic bathroom breaks, complaining about the inability to even get to a bathroom nearly 1/4 mile away
and back to the workstation in time, complaining about manadatory double shifts, or complaining about documented safety issues.
quote
"FAA reviewing safety allegations
Safety concerns are another key piece of the essay, which alleges that “some of the engineers who ensure the very safety of the rockets” were either forced out or paid off after internally voicing criticisms.
The essay said that last year, Blue Origin leadership showed “increasing impatience” with the low flight rate of its suborbital New Shepard rocket, saying the company’s team needed to jump from “a few flights per year … to more than 40.”
“When Jeff Bezos flew to space this July, we did not share his elation. Instead, many of us watched with an overwhelming sense of unease. Some of us couldn’t bear to watch at all,” the essay said. “Competing with other billionaires—and ‘making progress for Jeff’— seemed to take precedence over safety concerns that would have slowed down the schedule.”
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement to CNBC on Thursday that it is reviewing the safety concerns raised within the essay."
Those of us who have, or have had, skin in the Space Game are worried that pushing too fast and ignoring legitamit engineering issues
will lead to another tragic event like The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on February 1, 2003.
Another event like that might well kill any public support of further space travel - and just to appease the Bezos ego....
Lately he is Requiring "Non-disparage" agreements as part of employment which
literally screams, "Well Bezos , what are you trying to hide if you think you have to demand
a legal document to silence your workers from complaining or testifying ahead of time? "
A Non-Disparage agreement is a relatively new legal twist that has not yet had sufficient
court tests ....
just so you know the bigger picture...
prf grumbles