![]() To put it into perspective, Reuters reported in 2018 that the firm plans to charge $200,000 to $300,000 for early spaceflight tickets. $28 million is extortionate, a figure likely inflated by the historic nature of the launch and the fact that the proceeds go to charity. The Inverse analysis - Perhaps the most eye-popping detail from the auction is the price. SpaceX is planning its first all-civilian flight, Inspiration4, to reach low-Earth orbit when the mission launches on September 15. Bezos may beat Musk in that feat, but reports earlier this month suggested that Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson is aiming to fly in his firm’s ship over the July 4 weekend.īlue Origin and Virgin Galactic are both aiming for suborbital flights, though. Watch the company’s explainer of its progress here:Īlthough SpaceX has launched three crewed missions to the International Space Station since May 2020, CEO Elon Musk has yet to go to space himself. The capsule and rocket will both return to Earth, ready for use on another mission.īlue Origin has flown 15 uncrewed test flights with its New Shepard rocket. The capsule on top of the rocket will travel past the Kármán line, located around 62 miles above the Earth’s surface and considered by many to be the boundary of space. It will lift off from the firm’s West Texas facility. The lucky winner will join the others in a flight lasting around 10 minutes. Blue Origin’s crewed flight: what’s the plan? The money will be donated to Blue Origin’s Club for the Future, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring children to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and medicine. Over the course of the event, almost 7,600 people registered from 159 countries. The bidding was initially private, moving to a public auction on May 19. Want to find out more about the emergent new space race, and competitors like SpaceX and Blue Origin? Subscribe to MUSK READS+ for exclusive interviews and analysis about spaceflight, electric cars, and more.īlue Origin’s auction was announced on May 5. Blue Origin is competing with the likes of SpaceX and Virgin Galactic to launch more ordinary (albeit wealthy) people, a stark contrast to the sixties-era race that focused on training up elite astronauts for government missions. ![]() The auction represents a major step in the emergent new space race, which has seen enthusiastic billionaires duke it out to increase humanity’s presence in space. The as-yet-unnamed auction winner will fly alongside the firm’s founder Jeff Bezos, his brother, and one final unnamed crew member on the New Shepard rocket’s first human flight on July 20. On Saturday, Blue Origin announced that the first seat on its first crewed flight sold for a staggering $28 million. It’s one small step for a lucky auction winner, but one giant leap for the space industry.
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