Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans space travel with Blue Origin

'Our approach on this is very simple, which is heads down, focus on the technology' said Bezos

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has put forward plans to launch rockets into orbit, becoming the latest technology industry leader join a growing field of billionaires engaged in the race to space.

Bezos revealed his goals for space startup Blue Origin as the competition among private firms looking into human space travel and exploration intensifies.

The announcement comes shortly after fellow tech luminary Elon Musk's concept for a satellite-based "space internet" took one step closer to completion by being submitted to the FCC. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and Virgin chief executive Richard Branson are also heading up projects dedicated to space travel.

Bezos plans to invest more than $200m to build a rocket manufacturing facility near NASA's Kennedy Space Centre on the Atlantic coast of Florida. Blue Origin aims to launch space vehicles from a refurbished launch pad at the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station

"As a kid, I was inspired by the giant Saturn 5 (Apollo moon) missions that roared to life from these shores. Today, we're thrilled to be coming to the Sunshine State for a new era of exploration," Bezos told journalists at Blue Origin's launch site.

Blue Origin has partnered with United Launch Alliance, a joint-venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing, for development of BE-4 rocket engines as the start-up looks to lead the way in privately funded space travel.

"For sure, this is an industry where people are competitive, but I think it's also an industry where there is a lot of heart and people doing this for reasons of passion," said Bezos.

The start-up has the ultimate aim of flying tourists into space, but Bezos isn't under any illusions that it will be a simple task. But the end-goal is worth the cost, he believes.

"If my only goal were to make money, I'd would just open a new kind of snack food company. It's way more likely to work ... but I don't want to do that," he explained.

There is no strict timetable for Blue Origin's planned launch of a rocket into outer space, but according to Bezos the company will achieve this goal "in the next decade".

"Our approach on this is very simple, which is heads down, focus on the technology," Bezos said.

"I'm a huge believer that this is a viable and good business," he added.