Blue Origin, auction concluded: $28 million for a space trip with Jeff Bezos
Auction concluded. Blue Origin, a space company created by Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, awarded the "golden ticket." [...]
Auction concluded. Blue Origin, a space company created by Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, awarded the "golden ticket." This is a pass to try their hand at a very special journey, namely the experimental launch of the New Shepard, spaceship that will be tasked to make a short flight to 100 kilometers of altitude.
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Bezos has long made his intentions clear. These are the first steps in a long-range entrepreneurial investment. Space could turn into the next battleground of planetary entertainment. Something for which the planet's rich are already willing to invest considerable sums. The auction conducted, in fact, resulted in the winner investing as much as 28 million dollars, about 23 million, to obtain this privilege.
The auction lasted a few days and was conducted online so that everyone could take part, from all corners of the world. Although the winner was announced, revealing the amount spent, his name remains unknown for now. The company explained that it intends, for now, to keep his or her identity secret. The name will be revealed only in the coming weeks. The auction data are quite compelling. There is a market for the space travel, although reserved for a small audience to say the least. More than 7,500 people took part in the auction, from 159 different countries. The proceeds all went to the scientific culture promotion foundation Club for the Future, owned by Blue Origin itself.
The auction for the very first seat on #NewShepard has concluded with a winning bid of $28 million. The winning bid amount will be donated to Blue Origin's foundation, @ClubforFuture. Full replay of the auction webcast: https://t.co/5Vc8IvWxJR pic.twitter.com/TheGbgOFmhx
- Blue Origin (@blueorigin) June 12, 2021
The Blue Origin Flight
The announced flight includes a total of four passengers. They will climb to a height of 100 kilometers, Jeff Bezos himself, his brother Mark, the winner of the online auction, and a fourth passenger, whose name will be announced later. An official date for the launch has been revealed: July 20, 2021. There is great curiosity about the New Shepard experiment, consisting of a rocket topped by a capsule with passengers inside. After about four minutes, the prefigured altitude will be reached, with the people on board experiencing microgravity, or weightlessness.
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The two elements of the Shepard will separate, with the rocket landing independently, while the capsule will touch down thanks to parachutes. An exciting journey, to say the least, lasting about 10 minutes. Under no circumstances, let's be clear, will the spacecraft have any way to pass the Earth's atmosphere.
Suborbital flights
Space tourism is no longer exclusive to science fiction movies. This is a real experiment suitable for the future implementation of a very specific program. Bezos will make use of a reusable rocket on this occasion, specifically designed to ensure constant reuse of a mini-fleet.
What will happen at the end of the maiden flight? Will there be room for more expeditions to 100 kilometers high. Suborbital flights that will allow lucky travelers to experience weightlessness for a few minutes. At this stage the users will be the world's rich. Once the project is funded and launched, who knows what may happen. In the next 10 years, the American entrepreneur could change the concept of travel forever, literally opening up new routes to be discovered and experienced.
