Billionaire Jeff Bezos’ American space company Blue Origin plans to take tourists to space for the first time this summer. Interested parties can bid on a seat. The highest bid is now at 2.8 million dollars (almost 2.3 million euros), the company reports.
It concerns a tourist flight with the New Shepard: a rocket and capsule with space for six people. One of the six seats is up for auction.
More than 5,200 people from 136 countries bid for a seat during a first round. Initially, $2.4 million was the highest bid, but this bidder was outbid in a second round. The second round will last until June 10.
The rocket is designed to take the capsule to an altitude of 100 kilometers above the Earth. There, people are weightless for several minutes and can observe the orbit of the Earth, before the capsule returns on its own to land with the help of parachutes.
Before the space tourists travel with the reusable New Shepard rocket, they first receive a three-day training.