Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will fly to space today (Tuesday 20 July).
The 57-year-old will be launched from Texas, United States, to the edge of space in a 10-minute flight on board his Blue Origin New Shepard rocket.
A live broadcast is due to kick-off at 6.30am CDT, with lift-off targeted for 8.00am CDT (2pm in the UK).
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The billionaire will become the second person to ride his own rocket into space, following Virgin Galactic's Sir Richard Branson by nine days.
On Instagram, Bezos - who recently stepped down as Amazon CEO - said he 'can't wait' for the excursion.
Joining Bezos on the flight will be his brother Mark and Wally Funk - one of 13 female pilots who went through the same tests as Nasa's Mercury 7 astronauts in the early 1960s but never made it into space because only men were allowed - and Oliver Daemen.
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The latter is an 18-year-old physics student who has taken the place of a $28 million auction winner who is now too busy to make the trip.
Oliver bagged his seat on board the flight as his dad was one of the runners-up in the auction.
How much he paid for the ticket has not been disclosed, but a family spokesperson said it was considerably less than the winning bid.
His father, Dutch financier Joes Daemen, founded private equity firm Somerset Capital Partners.
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Joes paid for the ticket, but decided to let his son go instead.
Oliver said: "I am super excited to go to space.
"I've been dreaming about this all my life and I will become the youngest astronaut ever because I'm 18 years old.
"I am super excited to experience zero G."
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He added: "This is so unbelievably cool!
"The flight to and into space only takes 10 minutes, but I already know that these will be the most special 10 minutes of my life."
You can watch the launch here.
Topics: Celebrity, jeff bezos, US News, space, Amazon
