Jeff Bezos is all set to accomplish his lifelong dream of flying to space next month. An unnamed wealthy individual has decided to shell out a fortune to book a seat alongside the billionaire in his rocket.
A monthlong high-stakes auction to partner the Amazon founder to space ended in a frenzy as bids skyrocketed in the final moments. With the bid at $4.8 million on Thursday, the coveted rocket seat sold for $28 million (Rs. 205 crore).
The anonymous individual, who emerged victorious from a pool of 7,500 bidders from 159 countries, will be revealed in the coming weeks. A fourth space tourist will also travel alongside the Bezos brothers and the winner of the auction.
Jeff Bezos' space itinerary
Bezos, who will be stepping down from his role as Amazon’s CEO on July 5, revealed that he and his brother Mark will travel to the edge of space in his space company Blue Origin’s New Shepard launch vehicle.
The rocket will take off from a desert in the American state of Texas and the entire flight will last for 11 minutes. A capsule carrying the four-space tourists will spend four minutes above the Kamran line at an altitude of more than 100 kilometers. The Kamran line is the internationally recognized boundary between space and Earth’s atmosphere.
Blue Origin’s automated capsules does not need a pilot. The futuristic cabin has six seats with horizontal backrests next to large portholes and swish lighting. The space flight will see them experience weightlessness and stunning views of the Earth’s curvature from space. Their memorable four minutes in space will be captured by multiple cameras.
The booster will return to Earth autonomously and land on a site a couple of miles from the launchpad. Meanwhile, the space capsule carrying Bezos and others will float back to Earth with the help of three large parachutes. The landing speed of the capsule will be around 1.61 kms per hour.
