You Can Now Bid on a Seat on Blue Origin’s Next Space Flight

by Gordon Gottsegen
May 5, 2021
Blue Origin New Shepard rocket interior
The interior of Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. | Photo: Blue Origin

Do you have any plans on July 20? Want to go to space?

On Wednesday, Kent-headquartered, Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin announced that it’s opening up bidding for a seat aboard its New Shepard spacecraft. The craft is scheduled for its next space mission on July 20, and it will be the first time a Blue Origin trip to space will be available to a member of the public — marking a major milestone for the world of private space tourism.

New Shepard has already completed over a dozen consecutive successful launches and landings, sending commercial payloads to space and even flying a lunar landing sensor to the moon. But this will be the first time the spacecraft launches a crew of astronauts into orbit. Almost all of the people aboard the July 20 mission will be Blue Origin astronauts, but the company is reserving one seat for a member of the public and auctioning it away.

Also in SeattleThese 5 Seattle Tech Companies Raised a Total of $237M in April

Proceeds of the auction will go to Blue Origin’s Club for the Future, a foundation created by the company to encourage children to pursue careers in STEM. The goal of this foundation is to help pave the way so younger generations can help innovate the future of space discovery.

Beginning Wednesday and through May 19, Blue Origin will be accepting bids for the New Shepard seat via sealed online bidding, meaning people can go to the company’s website and place bids without seeing what other people are bidding. On May 19, bidding will become visible and participants must beat the highest bid to be considered. Then on June 12, bidding will conclude with a live online auction.

The winning bid will likely be a hefty sum. Space tourism competitor Virgin Galactic has revealed that tickets aboard its space trips will cost around $250,000, and Blue Origin is expected to price their trips in that ballpark. Since this first trip is being auctioned away, the price is not set in stone, so it could be higher or lower than that depending on demand.

A six-figure price tag would make this trip to space out of reach for most people living on this planet, but still, the prospect of private space tourism is likely exciting for any space aficionado.

Jobs at Blue Origin

Seattle startup guides

LOCAL GUIDE
Best Companies to Work for in Seattle
LOCAL GUIDE
Coolest Tech Offices in Seattle
LOCAL GUIDE
Best Benefits at Seattle Tech Companies
LOCAL GUIDE
Women in Seattle Tech