Blue Origin Auction Winner Beats 7,000 Bids from 159 Countries to Join Jeff Bezos in Space for $28 Million

Blue Origin’s first crewed space flight now has one more passenger on its manifest, after the weeks-long auction for a seat on the inaugural flight alongside Jeff Bezos and his brother ended Saturday.

The winner, who has not yet been identified by name, won with a massive $28 million dollar bid. Sealed and unsealed bids were taken over the last few weeks, leading up to a live auction on Saturday morning with about 20 participants. From the opening bid of $4.8 million, to the winning $28 million bid, about ten minutes elapsed.

The trip to the edge of space will begin in Van Horn, Texas on July 20, conditions permitting, and last about 11 minutes. The target is about 62 miles up, the generally agreed upon boundary of “beginning part” of space, as Owen Wilson’s character in the movie Armageddon succinctly put it.

The company says they will announce the name of the winner, along with another unnamed passenger, in the coming weeks.