The first customer that will go to space with Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital spacecraft will be shelling an amount of at least $2.6 million. Jeff Bezos’ space company is auctioning six seats on the spacecraft for its first-ever crewed flight, scheduled to take off on July 20.
The auction kicked off on May 5 with sealed online bidding and moved to unsealed bidding starting May 19. This means people will be able to see how much the seat is selling for. The leading bid as shown by the space company is set at $2.6 million.
Auction money will be donated
And the number is certainly going higher. The unsealed online bidding phase will run through June 10 and will continue up to June 12. However, the winning bid won’t go to Jeff Bezos’ bank account; rather it “will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] and help invent the future of life in space,” a company representative said in the auction description.
To get a seat on the Blue Origin spacecraft, the passenger should be 18 or above. The space company will also consider the passenger’s height and weight before confirming travel. The passenger should have an average height and should weigh between 50 and 101kg.
Homage to the Apollo 11 moon landing
New Shepard comprises a rocket and a capsule, and both of them are built for reusable purposes. The rocket will land back on Earth vertically, while the capsule will land softly using parachutes. The spacecraft has performed this maneuver several times; it has flown 15 uncrewed test flights to suborbital space. Recently, it took off an “astronaut rehearsal” mission.
The crewed flight will take off July 20, if things go accordingly. The date also marks the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. The space company has set May 5 as the target for the auction, which is the 60th anniversary of the first American crewed spaceflight, carrying astronaut Alan Shepard.
