Washington (AFP)

Millionaires note: A rocket seat for a flight of minutes into space is currently up for auction, but its price is already in excess of $ 2.4 million, the company revealed on Wednesday Space Blue Origin.

Potential customers still have one month to bid a higher amount and hope to hit the jackpot.

On July 20, the company created by American billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, will send humans into space for the first time, aboard his New Shepard rocket.

For two weeks, anyone could make an offer of the amount of their choice, blind, for this first seat.

A deposit of $ 10,000 was required for any stake over $ 50,000.

5,200 people from more than 136 countries participated, announced Blue Origin, which also revealed Wednesday the highest bid made during this first phase: 1.4 million dollars.

From now on, to register, any new participant must exceed the highest amount wagered so far, continuously updated on the Blue Origin website.

And from Wednesday morning, the auctions were quickly packed: first at $ 2 million, then $ 2.2 million, 2.4 ...

The closing date is June 10.

Two days later, a final round will be held online and live between the participants already registered.

The announcement of the winner will then be made.

The final amount will be donated to a foundation created by Blue Origin, intended to encourage young people to work in the scientific world.

The trip next July will only last about ten minutes in total, and will carry passengers just above the Karman Line, which according to international convention marks the beginning of space, at an altitude of 100 km.

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They will be able to float in zero gravity for a few minutes and observe the curvature of space.

The capsule that will be at the top of the rocket, with large windows, can accommodate up to six people, but Blue Origin has not specified who will be the other passengers.

The rocket will take off from a desert in West Texas.

The main competitor of Blue Origin in this sector of short tourist flights in space, Virgin Galactic, for its part has already sold some 600 tickets at a price between 200,000 and 250,000 dollars.

But she warned that when new ones go on sale, they will be priced higher - without revealing by how much.

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