Jeff Bezos Announces He'll Be Flying Into Space Next Month
By Jason Hall
June 7, 2021
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced he and his brother, Mark, will be joining an auction winner on New Shepard's first human flight to space next month.
ABC News reports Blue Origin, an aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company founded by Jeff Bezos, announced the Bezos brothers will be joining the winner of its auction for a seat on the vessel -- which has already reached $2.8 million among 6,000 bidders from 143 countries as of Monday (June 7) and is set to conclude on Saturday (June 12) -- for a flight to the edge of space on July 20.
Bezos also shared the news of his upcoming space flight on his verified Instagram account Monday.
"Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space. On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother," Bezos captioned alongside a video. "The greatest adventure, with my best friend. #GradatimFerociter"
The flight will take the Bezos brothers and other passengers to the edge of space, where they will unbuckle and float for three minutes before descending back to Earth.
"The winning bid amount will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, whose mission is to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and to help invent the future of life in space," Blue Origin said in their announcement via ABC News.
Bezos ranked as the world's richest person with a net worth of $177 billion in 2021, according to Forbes.
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