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Blue Origin to auction off ticket to the edge of space

Jeff Bezos
Posted at 3:20 PM, May 05, 2021
and last updated 2021-05-05 17:20:50-04

Blue Origin, which Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos created in 2000, opened up an auction on Wednesday to send one lucky winner to space this July.

The New Shepherd will launch from the company's Van Horn, Texas, spaceport on July 20.

The lucky winner will get launched about 60 miles above the Earth. They'll spend several minutes in weightlessness before the capsule parachutes them back to Earth.

Blue Origin says the auction is open to anyone, and the bidding will be sealed until May 19.

After that, anyone can see who bids.

On June 12, the bidding will conclude, and a winner will be announced.

"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 company said on its website.

Before you bid, though, you must fit specific criteria set in place by Blue Origin: you must weigh between 110-223 pounds, be between 5' to 6'4", be able to climb the New Shepard launch tower (equivalent to 7 flights of stairs) in under 90 seconds, and walk quickly across uneven surfaces.

You must also be able to withstand up to 3Gs during ascent and 5.5Gs during descent.