Blue Origin announced today that 18-year-old physics student Oliver Daemen will be the first paying customer to fly on board New Shepard, marking the beginning of commercial operations for the program. He’ll be joined by Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, and Wally Funk aboard New Shepard’s first human flight on July 20th. This sudden replacement came about when the original winner of Blue Origin’s auction chose to fly on a future New Shepard mission due to scheduling conflicts.
Oliver, a physics student who graduated from high school in 2020, has always had a passion for space, the Moon, and rockets. He took a gap year before continuing his studies to obtain his private pilot’s license. After returning from the spaceflight, Oliver will begin his studies at the University of Utrecht in the fields of physics and innovation management this September.
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We thank the auction winner for their generous support of Club for the Future and are honored to welcome Oliver to fly with us on New Shepard. This marks the beginning of commercial operations for New Shepard, and Oliver represents a new generation of people who will help us build a road to space,” said Bob Smith, CEO of Blue Origin.
