KENT, Wash. — Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft is sending its first astronaut crew into space on July 20, and you can bid for one of the seats.
The aerospace company, backed by Jeff Bezos, is opening a bidding war for the very first seat on the rocket with all proceeds going to charity.
Here's how it works. Those interested in hitching a ride to space can start entering their bids online now.
All bids, of any amount, will be kept sealed until May 19 when they'll become visible to allow participants to see the competing bids. From there, any additional bids to snag the seat will have to exceed the highest bid to continue the auction.
June 12 will mark the grand finale for the auction when bidding switches to a live set-up. At the end of the auction, the seat will go to the highest bidder.
"The winning bid amount will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM and help invent the future of life in space."
The suborbital sightseeing trip, of sorts, marks the latest in a series of civilian-based commercial space travel opportunities being publicly announced this year.
The 60-foot rocket that's named after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard who was the first American in space 60 years ago Wednesday (May 5, 1961), is designed to take astronauts and payloads past the Kármán line – the recognized imaginary boundary of space.
It operates on a vertical takeoff and a parachuted landing in the West Texas desert for the six-person crew capsule. During the launch, Blue Origin says those on board will experience forces equal to three times the Earth's gravitational force.
And while the ride will be thrilling, it also will be short-lived compared to rivaling all-civilian flights. According to Blue Origin, the "experience of a lifetime" will last 11 minutes from liftoff to landing.
To prepare for your flight, the company says you will learn everything you need to know in an "active and fun" day-long training session.
"Training includes mission and vehicle overviews, in-depth safety briefings, mission simulation and instruction on your in-flight activities such as operational procedures, communications and maneuvering in a weightless environment," according to Blue Origin.
Post-landing, you'll be able to remember your experience with high-definition videos, pictures, and mementos from your flight.
To prepare, Blue Origin has completed 15 missions to space and back and conducted a series of simulations to prepare operations for future flights with customers on board.
The New Shepard NS-15 flight launched on April 14 from Launch Site One in West Texas. Blue Origin personnel acted as astronauts for the simulation but never actually entered space. Instead, they went through climbing the launch tower, entering the capsule, doing CAPCOM tests, hatch opening and exiting the vehicle.
Blue Origin's announcement comes as SpaceX is working towards sending the first all-civilian crew into space this year. This mission called Inspriation4 will include a multi-day journey, orbiting every 90 minutes around the planet we call home.
SpaceX is also involved in the dearMoon project funded by a Japanese entrepreneur and billionaire who is looking to take humans further into space than they've ever been before. Targeted for 2023, the civilian crew will launch on Starship for a little more than a week-long journey around the Moon and back.
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