Winning bidder pays $28 million to go to space with Jeff Bezos

It’s a galactic shipping fee.

The winning bid for a trip to space alongside Jeff Bezos and his brother was $28 million, Bezos’ space company Blue Origin announced Saturday.

Blue Origin’s first manned flight will occur July 20 and carry Bezos, his brother Mark and the unnamed auction winner. A fourth, unrevealed person will join them aboard the company’s New Shepard rocket ship for its first human spaceflight.

Jeff Bezos unveils a Blue Origin rocket in 2015 alongside then-Florida Gov. Rick Scott. (Phelan M. Ebenhack/)

The auction winner’s name will be released in the next few weeks, according to a Blue Origin press release, which also teased the reveal of the fourth crew member.

Blue Origin has tested the New Shepard on 15 unmanned flights. The ship is designed for 11-minute trips that briefly lift a capsule into space before it returns to Earth.

This undated file illustration provided by Blue Origin shows the capsule that is designed to carry tourists as they float through space.

The Bezos space experience is different from his competitor’s in the rich guy space race. Elon Musk signed a deal to take tourists all the way to the International Space Station using SpaceX rockets. Those seats cost $55 million.

Unlike Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic, however, Blue Origin flights will cross the international line that designates outer space. Virgin Galactic flights will cross the United States’ lower marker.