The New Shepard Seat Auction in 2021
The New Shepard seat auction offered a chance to bid for a place on Blue Origin’s first human flight. Our May 2021 report shared details after RocketBreaks received the announcement. At that point, the company targeted 20 July for the mission.
However, this is a historical report, and those bidding dates have passed. Readers can find the original notice in Blue Origin’s May 2021 announcement. In particular, it explained the stages of the competition and the intended use of the winning bid.
How the Bidding Worked
The New Shepard seat auction began with sealed online bidding from 5 to 19 May. During that stage, participants could submit bids without seeing other offers. Afterwards, the company opened a public bidding phase.
From 19 May, bidders had to exceed the highest visible offer to continue. Finally, a live online auction on 12 June brought the process to a close. These stages gave the announcement a clear timetable rather than a standard ticket price.
New Shepard Seat Auction and STEM Education
Blue Origin said the winning bid would go to its foundation, Club for the Future. The organisation aims to encourage interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Therefore, the announcement connected the spaceflight opportunity with education as well as tourism.
The company named New Shepard after Alan Shepard, the first American to fly to space. Meanwhile, the flight plan focused on a short suborbital journey. Passengers would experience weightlessness and views of Earth before returning to the ground.
Read More About Space Experiences
The New Shepard seat auction was one part of the wider space tourism story in 2021. To explore more developments, browse RocketBreaks news. Alternatively, visit our Earth-based space experiences page for another route into space-related activities.