• Home
  • Science
  • Science News
  • Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Discloses $2 Million as Current Highest Bid for Seat on Space Flight

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Discloses $2 Million as Current Highest Bid for Seat on Space Flight

Blue Origin is targeting July 20 for its first suborbital sightseeing trip.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Discloses $2 Million as Current Highest Bid for Seat on Space Flight

Blue Origin challenged the $2.9-billion (roughly Rs. 21,650 crore) Moon lander contract

Highlights
  • Blue Origin is targeting July 20 for first suborbital sightseeing trip
  • The process will conclude on June 12 with a live online auction
  • New Shepard is designed to autonomously fly six passengers
Advertisement

Blue Origin, billionaire Jeff Bezos' rocket company, disclosed $2 million (roughly Rs. 15 crores) as the current highest bid for a seat on its New Shepard spacecraft after the startup closed the first phase of its auction.

The second phase of the auction is underway and will last until June 10. The process will conclude in a final phase on June 12 with a live online auction.

The rocket company is targeting July 20 for its first suborbital sightseeing trip on its spacecraft, a landmark moment in a competition to usher in a new era of private commercial space travel.

The New Shepard rocket-and-capsule combo is designed to autonomously fly six passengers more than 62 miles (100 kilometres) above Earth into suborbital space.

It was reported in 2018 that Blue Origin was planning to charge passengers at least $200,000 (roughly Rs. 1.4 crores) for the ride, based on an appraisal of rival plans from billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and other considerations, though its thinking may have changed.

In April, Blue Origin formally challenged the $2.9-billion (roughly Rs. 21,650 crore) Moon lander contract awarded by NASA to rival Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Blue Origin said it had filed a protest with the federal Government Accountability Office, accusing NASA of moving the goalposts for contract bidders at the last minute.

NASA last month awarded SpaceX the contract to build a spaceship to deliver astronauts to the moon as early as 2024, choosing Musk's company over Blue Origin and defense contractor Dynetics.

The sought-after project aims to put humans back on the moon for the first time since 1972.

"NASA has executed a flawed acquisition for the Human Landing System programme and moved the goalposts at the last minute", Blue Origin said in an emailed statement.

"Their decision eliminates opportunities for competition, significantly narrows the supply base, and not only delays, but also endangers America's return to the moon. Because of that, we've filed a protest with the GAO."

© Thomson Reuters 2021


What is the best phone under Rs. 30,000 in India right now? We discussed this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Blue Origin, New Shepard, Jeff Bezos
Microsoft Is Retiring Internet Explorer in 2022, Edge Will Support Many of Its Functions
Share on Facebook Gadgets360 Twitter Share Tweet Snapchat Share Reddit Comment google-newsGoogle News
 
 

Advertisement

Follow Us

Advertisement

© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »