Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin greenlights commercial spaceflight
Amazon founder and outgoing CEO Jeff Bezos's spacefaring company Blue Origin is reportedly nearly ready to commence commercial space travel.
The entrepreneur has launched an online auction for the first civilian seat aboard its tourism spacecraft, the New Shepard to take people more than 97 km (60 miles) beyond the edge of space on July 20.
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This area is known as the Kármán line and is internationally recognised as the starting point of space.
The winning bid is set to be donated to Blue Origin's foundation, The Club of the Future, set to encourage future generations to pursue careers in STEM.
Sealed online bidding began on May 5 and is set to continue until May 9, with the live auction taking place on June 12.
This announcement shows a resurgence in the interest in space travel since 2009.
This announcement gives it an edge in the so-called "billionaire space race" against its main rival SpaceX, founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Virgin Galactic, founded by Richard Branson.
Musk is expected to launch one of his SpaceX Dragonships in the autumn with an all-civilian crew aboard. This flight is set to go orbital and remain in space for a few days.
Virgin Galactic has been selling commercial spaceflight tickets since 2005, initially starting from $200,000 (€165,777). They have yet to launch and the price of tickets has only increased with time.
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An intention to focus on Blue Origin was one of the primary reasons Bezos is set to resign from his position as Amazon chief in the third quarter, alongside him wanting to get more involved in climate initiatives.
"We named our launch vehicle after Alan Shepard to honour his historic flight," the company revealed. "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."
"This seat will change how you see the world," the company added.
At 4m wide and 18m in length, the New Shepard is a fully reusable vertical take-off and landing craft.
Fewer than 600 astronauts have ever been above the Kármán line and into space.
Blue Origin hopes to usher in an age of commercial spaceflight, which may also galvanise public support for the fight against climate change.
The company is based out of the Van Horn region in west Texas.
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The spaceflight company hopes the New Shepard experience will be a big draw. The BBC reports passengers will experience three minutes of weightlessness at the peak of the climb, while also being able to view the void of space and the Earth's curve.
The company has not yet announced pricing, although has mentioned tickets may go for as much as $200,000 (€133,000) when commercial flight begins - expecting higher prices during the initial launches.
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