Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is launching into space today aboard a Blue Origin spacecraft he funded.
This is the first time humans will go to space aboard a Blue Origin vehicle, although the rocket ship is autonomous and does not require a pilot.
There are six seats aboard the capsule, but only four seats will be filled.
Here are the other three people who will ride alongside Jeff Bezos:
Mark Bezos:
- Jeff Bezos' younger brother, Mark Bezos, will join the billionaire on the 11-minute flight. Mark Bezos, formerly the owner of an advertising agency, is now a senior vice president at Robin Hood, a New York City charity.
- "Ever since I was five years old, I've dreamed of traveling to space," Jeff Bezos said in an Instagram post. "On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend."
Wally Funk:
- Wally Funk — who trained for NASA's Mercury program but was denied the opportunity to go to space — is finally getting her time among the stars. Funk volunteered as a member of the Mercury 13 program, otherwise known as the "Women in Space Program," in February 1961, which was a privately-funded effort intended to begin training women to fly in NASA's earliest space programs. The 82-year-old will fly on New Shepard as an "honored guest," according to a post on Bezos' Instagram. After this flight, Funk will be the oldest person to fly to space.
- "I got ahold of NASA four times, and said 'I want to become an astronaut,' but nobody would take me," Funk said. "I didn't think I would ever get to go up. Nothing has ever gotten in my way. They say, 'Wally, you're a girl, you can't do that.' I said, 'Guess what, doesn't matter what you are, you can still do it if you want to do it,' and I like to do things that nobody's ever done before."
Oliver Daemen:
- The mystery bidder who paid $28 million for a trip to space with Jeff Bezos can no longer make the flight, Blue Origin announced. Therefore, Oliver Daemen, an 18-year old recent high school graduate, will take the anonymous bidder's place.
- Daemen "was a participant in the auction and had secured a seat on the second flight. We moved him up when this seat on the first flight became available," a Blue Origin spokesperson told CNN Business. If today's flight goes according to plan, Daemen will become the youngest person ever to fly to space.