The spacecraft company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos announced Saturday that an unnamed person won an auction to join the Amazon founder on the company’s maiden flight into space.
The company, Blue Origin, said the winner ponied up USD28 million (PHP1.34 billion) in a successful bid, but the person’s identity will not be announced for a couple of weeks.
Bidding for the chance to take a brief ride into space began about a month ago, and the company said more than 7,500 people from more than 150 countries registered. But the bidding war skyrocketed when Bezos announced Monday that he would be on board, along with his younger brother, Mark. By the weekend, the company said the highest bids were coming from about 20 people.
The company said the winning amount will be donated to Blue Origin’s Club for the Future, which promotes tech and science studies among young people.
The space capsule, New Shepard, will blast off from West Texas on July 20, for an inaugural trip to space that might only last a few minutes. The date is the anniversary of when Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon in 1969.
Source: Philippines News Agency