Jeff Bezos will be the first of the billionaire space barons to forge the final tourism frontier when he boards the New Shepard rocket made by his space company Blue Origin on July 20.
The Amazon boss announced on Instagram that he will be joining the 60-mile-high club, writing that he’ll make the journey with his brother Mark.
“Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space,” he wrote alongside a photo of himself hugging his brother. “On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend.”
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July 20 is not-s0-coincidentally the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing which first took humans to the moon.
The bold guinea pig move puts him ahead of Elon Musk, who has yet to board his manned SpaceX rockets, which have been the mainstay of the supply run to the International Space Station for NASA. He also beats out billionaire Richard Branson, who promised to be among the first passengers on his Virgin Galactic passenger rocket later this summer.
Bezos will be one of six passengers on the 59-foot New Shepard capsule on its 11-minute flight above planet Earth. The rocket, kitted out with massive windows for the amateur astronauts to enjoy the view, has made more than a dozen unmanned test flights. It will be launched vertically with the booster detaching; the capsule, aided by parachutes, will land in the desert.
“To see the Earth from space, it changes you,” Bezos said. “It’s an adventure; it’s a big deal for me.”
It is yet unclear what special training he is undergoing to prepare.
Bezos officially steps down from Amazon on July 5, just over two weeks before his departure. Blue Origin first announced in May that it was ready for passenger space travel. The other passengers have not been announced, but will include the winner of a seat currently being sold on auction, with bidding as of Sunday night at $2.8 million.
