Jeff Bezos, a man who once started a company to sell books but on the World Wide Web and slowly morphed into some sort of modern-day Greek titan, is finally doing it. He’s finally launching himself into space.
Yes, Bezos himself announced yesterday that both he and his brother are joining the first crewed spaceflight from his private rocket company this summer. He’ll be shooting off on July 20, which is just over two weeks after he’s going to step down as the CEO of Amazon.
On his Instagram, he opined about how this is a fulfilment of a lifelong goal.
“Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of traveling to space. On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend.”
He then hashtagged #GradatimFerociter, which we assume is his Greek titan name. Actually no wait, it means ‘Step by Step, Ferociously’ in Latin.
Blue Origin, Bezos’s rocket company, put out an announcement in May that it’s first flight with its New Shepard rocket would auction off a seat to the highest bidder. The Rocket can carry up to six tourists per flight.
The live auction will be held on June 12 to determine who wins, after a period back in may in which people were allowed to bid any amount on the website. All money from the auction will be donated to Club for the Future, a foundation founded by the rocket company that supports STEM education.
Nearly 6,000 people have already bid to be a part of the trip from 143 countries across the world, with bidding currently reaching $2.8 million, or about 28 Among Us-shaped BTS Chicken McNuggets in modern currency.
“To see the earth from space, it changes you. It changes your relationship with the earth, with humanity — it’s one earth,” said Bezos in his announcement video.
We’re all extremely curious to see who Bezos changes into next. Perhaps a Gundam of some kind? We’ll see!
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