Place your opening bid.
With those words, Blue Origin set off what is likely to be a high-stakes auction for a seat on the first passenger flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle.
The company, founded in 2000 by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, is auctioning off a ride on the July 20th flight to raise money for Club for the Future, a foundation Blue Origin established to promote STEM education and “invent the future of life in space.”
It’s impossible to guess how high the bidding could go, given the allure space travel holds for some of the world’s wealthiest individuals. For those with deep pockets, sealed online bidding begins today, May 5, 2021, and runs through May 19. After that, bids will be visible and participants must exceed the highest bid to continue.
On June 12, bidding concludes with a live online auction.