Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will be joined on his trip to space and back by a mystery bidder, who paid US$ 28 million (AED 102.8 million) for this ‘ticket to ride.’
Earlier this week, Bezos had announced that his brother Mark would join him on the company’s New Shepard vehicle that would be launched on July 20 to fly to the edge of space and back.
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Then a mystery bidder paid $28 million at an auction on June 12 for a seat beside Jeff Bezos aboard the first crewed spaceflight of the billionaire’s company Blue Origin.
The mystery winner’s name would be announced after the trip was over, Blue Origin stated while adding that a fourth yet unnamed space tourist too would be joining the flight to space.
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The June 12 mystery bidder had defeated about 20 rivals in the auction, which had been launched on May 19 and finished up with a 10-minute, live-cast frenzy. Bidding for the extra seats had reached $4.8 million by June 11 and suddenly surged by million-dollar increases in final live auction.
The proceeds from the auction will go to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, which aims to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics. (AW)
