Bezos’ Blue Origin Sells First Space Flight Seat For $28M, Buyer Rides With Him
Image via Blue Origin
Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space venture, concluded the live auction for the first seat aboard its New Shepard rocket on Saturday, June 12.
An anonymous bidder secured next month’s flight with Jeff Bezos and his brother, Mark, for US$28 million.
Although the winning bidder remains a mystery, the space firm has said he or she will be revealed in the following weeks. After which, the fourth and final crew member joining the flight will be announced.
In total, nearly 7,600 people from 159 countries registered to bid in the auction. Bids had reached US$4.8 million by Thursday, but shot up dramatically to US$28 million during the final live auction, as per Phys.org.
Proceeds from the winning bid will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, which aims to inspire children to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and pioneer the future of life in space.
New Shepard is set to launch from a desert in West Texas on July 20, with the trip lasting approximately 10 minutes.
The passengers will spend four minutes at an altitude exceeding 60 miles, which will allow them to experience weightlessness and look back at Earth from space. The capsule will then use large parachutes to slow its landing.
[via Phys.org and Blue Origin, cover image via Blue Origin]
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