Jeff Bezos Says He's Flying Into Space With His Brother on July 20 The two plan to be on the first human flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft.

This story originally appeared on Business Insider

picture alliance | Getty Images

Jeff Bezos on Monday announced that he and his brother, Mark Bezos, would be flying into space next month.

"Ever since I was five years old, I've dreamed of traveling to space," Bezos posted on Instagram. "On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother."

The brothers plan to fly on the first human flight of the New Shepard spacecraft, which is made by Jeff Bezos' space-exploration company, Blue Origin.

"I want to go on this flight because it's a thing I wanted to do all my life. It's an adventure — it's a big deal for me," Bezos said in a video posted to Instagram.

Related: Jeff Bezos Announces the Date of His Departure as Amazon CEO

"I invited my brother to come on this first flight because we're closest friends," he added.

"I wasn't even expecting him to say that he was going to be on the first flight, and then when he asked me to go along I was just awe-struck," Mark Bezos said in the same video.

Blue Origin is auctioning a seat on the same flight. The bidding for one of six seats on Blue Origin's New Shepard spacecraft has reached $2.8 million with nearly 6,000 participants from 143 countries, the company told Insider in a statement.

Related: Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity Completes Human Spaceflight

Bidding is live on Blue Origin's website and is scheduled to finish with a live online auction on Saturday.

The planned 11-minute trip is the company's first scheduled space-tourism flight, set to blast the crew 62 miles above the Earth's surface.

A maximum of six people can fit into the capsule, which sits on top of the rocket booster. Once New Shepard reaches a high altitude, the capsule is designed to break away from the booster, reenter the atmosphere, and float back down to Earth with the help of parachutes.

Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000, and he said in a 2018 interview that it was his "most important work."

Bezos is set to step down as Amazon CEO on July 5. When he announced in February that he would be leaving that role, he said Blue Origin was one of the projects to which he wanted to devote more of his attention.

Related: You Can Now Take A Ride In Jeff Bezos' Rocket Ship for $2.8 Million

Wavy Line

Editor's Pick

A Leader's Most Powerful Tool Is Executive Capital. Here's What It Is — and How to Earn It.
Lock
One Man's Casual Side Hustle Became an International Phenomenon — And It's on Track to See $15 Million in Revenue This Year
Lock
3 Reasons to Keep Posting on LinkedIn, Even If Nobody Is Engaging With You
Why a Strong Chief Financial Officer Is Crucial for Your Franchise — and What to Look for When Hiring One

Related Topics

Business News

More Americans Are Retiring Abroad, Without a Massive Nest Egg — Here's How They Made the Leap

About 450,000 people received their social security benefits outside the U.S. at the end of 2021, up from 307,000 in 2008, according to the Social Security Administration.

Business News

Woman Ties the Knot at White Castle Almost 30 Years After the Chain Gave Her Free Food as a Homeless Teen

Jamie West was just 12 years old when she ran away from the foster care system.

Business News

Lululemon Employees Say They Were Fired for Trying to Stop Shoplifters

Two Georgia women say Lululemon fired them without severance for trying to get thieves out of the store.

Business News

New York Lawyer Uses ChatGPT to Create Legal Brief, Cites 6 'Bogus' Cases: 'The Court Is Presented With an Unprecedented Circumstance'

The lawyer, who has 30 years of experience, said it was the first time he used the tool for "research" and was "unaware of the possibility that its content could be false."

Business News

The Virgin Islands Want to Serve Elon Musk a Subpoena, But They Can't Find Him

Government officials would like to talk to Tesla's owner as part of an investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein case.