Blue Origin sells seat on first spaceflight next to Jeff Bezos for $28M in auction ahead of Shepard rocket’s July launch
BLUE ORIGIN have sold a seat on their first spaceflight for $28M, according to reports.
The anonymous winning bidder will fly to the edge of space with the Amazon founder and his brother on the New Shepard rocket that is set to launch on July 20.
According to CNBC, the bidding opened at $4.8 million on Saturday, but quickly accelerated above $20 million within the first few minutes of the auction.
In the process, it gained interest from 143 countries and more than 6,000 determined average Joe and Jane astronauts.
All proceeds will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, which is a STEM-sourced learning effort to inspire children to “invent the future of life in space.”
The New Shepard is set to launch 62 miles (100 km) above Earth for an 11-minute flight into orbit and land in West Texas on July 20.
The date significantly marks the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.
The rocket is shaped like a capsule and features six observation windows that the company claims are three times as tall as those on a Boeing 747 jetliner and the largest ever used in space.
It launches vertically, and both the rocket and capsule are reusable.
Blue Origin director of astronaut and orbital sales Ariane Cornell said that New Shepard’s first passenger flight will carry a crew of four, with the final person also to be announced later.
She added that: “The view will be spectacular.”
Previously, it was revealed that Jeff Bezos would be taking to the inaugural space venture with his brother.
The chance for the adventure together was revealed in a emotional video.
“I want to go on this flight because it’s the thing I’ve wanted to do all my life,” Jeff Bezos said as an image of him as a kid shows him attempting to go down a space-themed playground slide.
A stunned Mark then chimed in: “I wasn’t even expecting him to say that he was going to be on the first flight.”
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The timely moment comes 21 years after Jeff Bezos established Blue Origin back in 2000 in Kent, Washington when he was an American privately-funded aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services.
It employs 3,500 workers and is seeking to conquer space in an affordable and cheaper way by using reusable vehicles.