A mystery bidder has paid $28m for a seat on Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s first crewed spaceflight by the billionaire’s Blue Origin company. This winning bid was made at Saturday’s auction, with Blue Origin tweeting that the winner’s identity would be revealed in the coming weeks. The bidding process attracted interest from more than 140 countries.
The other two crew members of the flight are Bezos’ brother Mark and an unnamed space tourist. “The winning bid amount will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future,” Blue Origin tweeted. Mr Bezos has a net worth of $186.2bn (£131.5bn), according to Forbes magazine which makes him one of the world’s richest people. “On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother,” he wrote in a post on Instagram. “The greatest adventure, with my best friend.” Mr Bezos’ brother Mark described the planned flight on Blue Origin’s launch vehicle New Shepard as a “remarkable opportunity”. The company plans to launch its passengers more than 100km above the Earth’s surface, allowing them to experience microgravity. The trip is expected to last about 10 minutes.The New Shepard booster can land vertically on the ground after returning from space. The first crewed flight comes just weeks after Mr Bezos plans to step down as CEO of Amazon. Instead he will serve as executive chairman of the e-commerce giant, allowing him time and energy to focus on other ventures.
