An 18-year-old paying customer will fly to space on board the Blue Origin’s first crewed spaceflight on July 20, becoming the youngest ever astronaut, according to AFP.

Oliver Daemen graduated from high school in 2020 and holds a private pilot’s license. He is not the winner of a $28 million auction, who has asked to remain anonymous and will fly on a future mission, the company said.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his brother Mark would take a place on board the company’s New Shepard launch vehicle on July 20, to fly to the edge of space and back. They will also be joined by 82-year-old Wally Funk aerospace pioneer, who was denied astronaut wings decades ago because of her gender.

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The rocket will take off from a desert in western Texas, the New Shepard trip will last a total of 10 minutes, four of which passengers will spend above the Karman line that marks the recognized boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space.

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After lift-off, the capsule separates from its booster, then spends four minutes at an altitude exceeding 60 miles (100 kilometers), during which time those onboard experience weightlessness and can observe the curvature of Earth from space.

The booster lands autonomously on a pad two miles from the launch site, and the capsule floats back to the surface with three large parachutes that slow it down to about a mile per hour when it lands.

Also Read | Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to fly to space on July 20 with brother Mark

Blue Origin’s New Shepard has successfully carried out more than a dozen uncrewed test runs from its facility in the Guadalupe Mountains of west Texas.

The reusable suborbital rocket system was named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space 60 years ago.

The automated capsules with no pilot have six seats with horizontal backrests placed next to large portholes, in a futuristic cabin with swish lighting.

Multiple cameras help immortalise the few minutes the space tourists experience weightlessness.

Meanwhile, winning the race to space tourism, British Billionaire Richard Branson flew to space in his company Virgin Galactic rocket on Sunday and termed it as an experience of lifetime.