If you’ve ever dreamed of traveling into space, Blue Origin has an extra seat on an upcoming rocket launch for a member of the public. But you’ll have to pay up.
Today is the 60th anniversary of Alan Shepard becoming the first American to fly to space, and Blue Origin is celebrating by kicking off an auction for a seat on its first manned mission using a New Shepard rocket, currently scheduled for July 20.
The auction is open to anyone, and there’s no minimum bid to start. From May 5-19, prospective space travelers can place a private bid during the sealed bidding process. On May 19, bids will become public and people will have to place higher and higher bids to remain in the running.
The bidding will then continue until June 12, when the process concludes with a live online auction to determine the winner. As a result, the seat could end up fetching a fortune. However, the flight on the New Shepard rocket will be short, lasting only about 11 minutes.
The flight will involve New Shepard soaring to skies before the booster rocket separates itself from the crew capsule. The same capsule will then continue on to travel over 100 kilometers (62 miles) above the planet, or past the Kármán line, the boundary between the atmosphere and outer space.
“During this 11-minute flight, astronauts will float above the thin limb of the atmosphere and witness life-changing views of Earth through windows that take up more than one-third of the surface area of the capsule,” Blue Origin said. The crew capsule will then return to Earth and land with the help of parachutes.
Of course, there’s always the risk of something going wrong. However, the company says New Shepard has built up a record of safety since Blue Origin began testing the vehicle in 2012.
“New Shepard has flown 15 successful consecutive missions to space and back above the Kármán Line through a meticulous and incremental flight program to test its multiple redundant safety systems. Now, it’s time for astronauts to climb onboard,” the company added.
The money from the winning bidder will be donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, which has been encouraging children to pursue careers in STEM.
