Jeff Bezos announced Monday that he and his brother Mark would be among those flying on the first passenger flight of his space company, Blue Origin — via a video posted on the billionaire's Instagram account.
The big picture: The passenger flight, the New Shepard, will be launching on July 20, with Bezos and his brother joining the winner of a public auction for one of the seats.
- Currently, auction bidding is at $2.8 million with roughly 6,000 participants from 143 countries.
- The New Shepherd has flown more than a dozen successful test flights, all without passengers, per CNBC.
- “To see the Earth from space, it changes you,” Bezos said in the video. “It’s an adventure; it’s a big deal for me.”
Of note: July 20, the day of the flight, will mark the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.