The person who paid $28 million to go to space with Jeff Bezos can't make it next week


The person who bid $28 million to go to space with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos apparently has more important things going on next week.
Blue Origin announced Thursday that Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old from the Netherlands, will accompany Bezos on his upcoming spaceflight, The Washington Post reports. Previously, Bezos' company Blue Origin auctioned off a seat on the July 20 flight for $28 million.
But the company revealed Thursday this auction winner has "scheduling conflicts," so they've "chosen to fly on a future New Shepard mission." Also joining the flight on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket will be Bezos' brother, Mark Bezos, as well as 82-year-old Wally Funk, and Blue Origin said Daemen and Funk will be "the youngest and oldest astronauts to travel to space" ever.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I am super excited to go to space and joining them on the flight," Daemen said, per The Verge. "I've been dreaming about this all my life, and I will become the youngest astronaut ever, because I'm 18 years old."
Daemen had also participated in the auction and "had secured a seat on the second flight," but he was moved up when the seat on the first one became available, a spokesperson told the Post.
Bezos announced last month he'd be headed to space on this brief flight, explaining that it's something he's "wanted to do all my life," though billionaire Richard Branson ended up beating him to the punch with a successful flight on Sunday.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
September 1 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include Labor Day picnic, branding strategy, and more
-
What is Tony Blair's plan for Gaza?
Today's Big Question Former PM has reportedly been putting together a post-war strategy 'for the past several months'
-
When does autumn begin?
The Explainer The UK is experiencing a 'false autumn', as climate change shifts seasonal weather patterns
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with Disney
Speed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year