Blue Origin Passes Forgone Flight Ticket To Would-Be Youngest Person In Space
Image via Blue Origin
Jeff Bezos’ space venture, Blue Origin, has officially announced the paying customer accompanying the Bezos brothers and pilot Wally Funk aboard its maiden flight on July 20. At just 18 years old, Oliver Daemen will be the youngest ever person to travel to space.
Interestingly enough, Wally Funk – who previously trained with NASA but never got to go to space – will also be the oldest ever person to be in space.
The winning bidder of Blue Origin’s ticket auction, who shelled out US$28 million, will be postponing his flight due to scheduling conflicts. Daemen, who just graduated from high school last year, will take his place.
Club for the Future announced earlier this week that the auction sale had allowed it to donate US$1 million each to 19 non-profit organizations supporting the future of living and working in space.
According to Blue Origin, flying on New Shepard will fulfill a life-long dream for the teen, who has been fascinated by space, the Moon, and rockets since he was four. Daemen will be attending the University of Utrecht to study physics and innovation management later this year.
“We thank the auction winner for their generous support of Club for the Future and are honored to welcome Oliver to fly with us on New Shepard. This marks the beginning of commercial operations for New Shepard, and Oliver represents a new generation of people who will help us build the road to space,” said Bob Smith, CEO of Blue Origin.
Welcome to the crew, Oliver! We’re grateful to have you as our first customer to mark the beginning of commercial operations. #NSFirstHumanFlight https://t.co/gwZ6qBOFpi pic.twitter.com/SuOwxe2353
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) July 15, 2021
[via Blue Origin]
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