And you thought airfare was expensive.
On Wednesday, Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos-founded space company competing with SpaceX, announced that the first flight of its six passenger New Shepard rocket would be taking place on July 20, and one lucky bidder will have the chance to be a part of history.
“We are offering one seat on this first flight to the winning bidder of an online auction. Anyone can place an opening bid by going to BlueOrigin.com. #GradatimFerociter,” Blue Origin said in a tweet,
The auction will take place on BlueOrigin.com in three parts according to the company. Phase one, which takes place between May 5 to May 19 gives people to bid any amount. The bid amounts will be unsealed on May 19 and on June 12, the company will have a live auction to name a winner.
Proceeds from the auction will go to the Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future which supports STEM education goals.
For the other five seats onboard the rocket, their prices are expected to be well within the range of many hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The rocket will take passengers over 62 miles above the Earth and will be piloted autonomously. Passengers will experience weightlessness for a few moments and then promptly return to Earth with the help of parachutes.
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