UPDATE $ 28 Million 1-Bid Wins Rocket Trip To Space With Bezos

(Updates with winning bid)

By Eric M. Johnson

SEATTLE, June 12 (Reuters) – A spaceship seat with billionaire Jeff Bezos was sold for $ 28 million in a live auction on Saturday, concluding the month-long bidding process for the sightseeing trip of Blue Origin’s maiden voyage next month.

Within four minutes of Saturday’s live telephone auction opening, the auction has topped $ 20 million. The auction closed seven minutes after the start of the auction. The identity of the winner – presumably an ultra-rich aficionado of space – was not immediately disclosed.

The July 20 launch of Blue Origin’s New Shepard thruster from West Texas would be a historic moment as U.S. companies strive to usher in a new era of private commercial space travel.

Blue Origin founder and Amazon.com Inc director Bezos, the richest man in the world and lifelong space enthusiast, battled fellow billionaire balloonists Richard Branson and Elon Musk for be the first of the three to travel beyond Earth’s atmosphere.

“Seeing earth from space changes you. It changes your relationship with this planet, with humanity,” Bezos said in a video ahead of the final auction, adding that his brother Mark would join him on the trip.

As the month-long auction process leading up to the live auction wrapped up on Thursday, the winning figure stood at $ 4.8 million, fueled by entries from more than 6,000 people. ‘at least 143 countries, Blue Origin said.

“Putting the richest man in the world and one of the world’s most recognized personalities in space is massive publicity for space as a field of exploration, industrialization and investment Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas told clients earlier this month.

While funds raised at the event go towards charity, Blue Origin hopes to galvanize enthusiasm for its burgeoning suborbital tourism business.

However, Branson, who founded Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc, could attempt to steal the thunder from Bezos by joining a possible test flight on the edge of space over the weekend of July 4 aboard the VSS Unity spaceplane. of Virgin, said a person familiar with the matter.

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The race is fueled by optimism that space travel will become mainstream as nascent technology is proven and costs drop, fueling what UBS estimates will be a $ 3 billion annual tourism market by 2030.

Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, along with Musk’s SpaceX, have also discussed using their rockets to connect remote global cities. UBS says the long-haul travel market could be worth more than $ 20 billion, although several hurdles such as air safety certification can derail plans.

Blue Origin has not disclosed its pricing strategy for future trips.

Reuters reported in 2018 that Blue Origin plans to charge passengers at least $ 200,000 for the ride, based on market research and other considerations, although its thinking may have changed. (Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Chizu Nomiyama)