Jeff Bezos will launch into space next month on the first human flight for New Shepard, the rocket created by his space flight company Blue Origin.
Bezos, the richest person in the world, announced in an Instagram post on Monday that he will fly to space on July 20 with his brother Mark.
“Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space. On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend. #GradatimFerociter,” Bezos wrote on Instagram, adding his company’s motto, which is the Latin translation for “Step by Step Ferociously.”
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The trip will come 15 days after Bezos, the founder and current CEO of Amazon, transitions to an executive chairman role. The company’s new CEO, Andy Jassy, is slated to take over the post the same day, on July 5.
Bezos’s launch into space will make him the first of the billionaire space moguls to experience a trip to space on the technology his fortune helped develop, according to CNN.
Not even Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, has signaled plans to visit space aboard his technology, the network noted.
Blue Origin, which was founded by Bezos, announced in April that it planned to sell tickets for the “very first seat on #NewShepard,” according to a tweet.
It’s time. You can buy the very first seat on #NewShepard. Sign up to learn how at https://t.co/XNq9WALA7u. Details coming May 5th. #GradatimFerociter pic.twitter.com/K9jugCs9yz
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 29, 2021
The company has not yet announced the price for tickets, CNN noted, but it is holding an auction for one ticket aboard the New Shepard flight.
According to a statement from the company, bidding is already at $2.8 million, with almost 6,000 participants from 143 companies.
A live auction will be held on July 12.
Bezos, in an announcement video posted on Instagram, said seeing Earth from space “changes you.”
“It changes your relationship with this planet, with humanity. It’s one Earth,” Bezos continued.
“I want to go on this flight because it’s the thing I’ve wanted to do all my life. It’s an adventure. It’s a big deal for me. I invited my brother to come on this first flight because we’re closest friends,” he added.
Blue Origin was one of the three companies awarded a contract by NASA last year to design and develop the human landing systems to land the first woman and next man on the moon.