American privately funded aerospace company Blue Origin recently announced that it plans to fly its first space tourism passengers starting on July 20, with one seat that will be auctioned to the public.
After years of test flights that did not have anyone on board, Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin will soon begin to start flying people on the New Shepard. They made this announcement about 60 years after Alan Shepard (whom the vehicle was named after) became the first American space on the Mercury 3 launch.
Ariane Cornell, director of astronaut sales of Blue Origin, said, "We have flown this vehicle 15 times and, after the last flight, we said, 'It's time. Let's put people on board.'"
Blue Origin did not make it evident as to who would be seated on the vehicle, but that it would have six available seats, as well as one available via an auction. The company stated that it would take sealed bids up until May 19, then pass through an unsealed bidding phase, which would then end in a live auction on June 12.
Blue Origin stated that the money accumulated from the auction would be donated to the nonprofit organization, Club for the Future, which supports STEM education activities.
Cornell chose not to disclose exactly how the company would sell tickets past the initial auction. "We don't have details on the prices for future seats, and we will announce the details of how those future seats will be sold in the future, after this auction," said Cornell. She also stated that Blue Origin would take advantage of its "most active bidders" in the auction so that there could be follow-up on future ticket sales.
In order to take flight on this particular New Shepard aircraft, individuals need to meet a certain number of physical and other such criteria, including being 18 years old, having a weight between 50 and 101 kg, being between 152 to 193 centimeters tall, and being able to withstand 3g's of acceleration during launch and 5.5g's "for a few seconds" during reentry.
Although many details still remain up in the air regarding the flight of the New Shepard aircraft, many steps have already been initiated in order to create an exciting event. Much effort and thought have been put forth into this particular project, so it will surely show in the level of interest that people will demonstrate in the auction toward gaining a seat on the aircraft.