FIELD TRIP OF A LIFETIME

Teen Wins Seat on Bezos’ Space Flight After Anonymous $28M Bidder Bows Out

Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old physics student, will become the youngest person to go into space when he jets out with Bezos on July 20.

Oliver Daemen, 18, will become the youngest person to fly to space when he joins Amazon founder Jeff Bezos on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. Blue Origin said that an anonymous person, who bid $28 million in last month’s auction to nab a seat on the flight, was not able to join due to “scheduling conflicts.” Daemen, a physics student, came in second place in the bid after his father, Somerset Capital Partners CEO, Joes Daemen, paid for a seat. “We moved him up when this seat on the first flight became available,” Blue Origin said. Daemen will fly with Bezos and his brother, Mark Bezos, and legendary aerospace pioneer Wally Funk, who will be the oldest person to fly to space at age 82. The rocket will launch on July 20, the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.