If the idea of becoming the first space tourist on board Blue Origin’s New Shepard is something you fancy, now’s your chance. But you have to put your money where you mouth is, and it’s not going to be cheap.
As announced a while back, Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space exploration company, has opened sales for tickets onboard New Shepard on May 5. “Sale,” in singular, because bidding has started for just one ticket. During a press conference, Ariane Cornell, Blue Origin’s director of astronaut sales, said that pricing for remaining seats on the inaugural flight, as well as subsequent ones, could be determined by the auction – and the level of interest expressed in it.
New Shepard has performed 15 successful flights since 2015, but not one of them was manned. This will be the first, so whoever wins the big ticket won’t be just the first space tourist with Blue Origin, but also part of the first manned flight of the rocket.
The auction is a three-phase one managed by RR Auction Company. The first phase, from May 5 to May 19 is sealed, so technically, anyone can bid as long as they register online, with Blue Origin (and as long as they meet physical requirements). The second phase kicks off on May 19 and is one of unsealed bidding, when all bids will be visible and the highest bid will keep the auction going. On June 12, the third and final phase takes place, in the form of a live online auction, which will determine the lucky guy or gal to become the first space tourist.
Whoever he or she is, they won’t have to pack for an extended journey. New Shepard is a rocket with a detachable capsule, with the capsule coming off once an altitude of 65 miles (104.6 km) is reached. It will then spend 10 minutes in weightlessness, just past the Karman line, where outer space begins, before beginning a controlled descent.
The entire flight is autonomous and the capsule is designed for space tourism, with a total of six reclining seats. On the inaugural flight, the other five will be occupied by astronauts picked by Blue Origin. Interested parties will only have to meet the physical requirements, and training will be a matter of a three-day course ahead of the launch, which will focus mostly on how to operate the capsule’s fire suppression system.
At the same event, Cornell said the “most active bidders” in the current auction will be considered for future ticket sales, The Verge reports.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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