His name is Oliver Daemen, he is only 18 years old. He was announced as one of the world’s richest male friends, Jeff Bezos, who will go into space on July 20th. Oliver will be the youngest person to ever go to space. What does he look like?
Oliver, who lives in the Netherlands, replaced an anonymous candidate who did not fly despite winning the $ 28 million auction. It was actually the father who signed up and paid for it, Joes Daemen, founder of Somerset Capital Partners, but handed it over to his son.
"I'm so excited to go into space. I've been dreaming about this all my life and I'm going to be the youngest astronaut since I'm 18. I'm so excited to experience zero gravity," Oliver said.
Blue Origin, the Jeff Bezos space company, says Oliver was the first paid passenger. In addition to Bezos and Oliver, the other two passengers were Jeff Bezos ’brother, Mark, and veteran pilot Mary Wallace who flew for free. But it was not specified how much Oliver should pay.
Oliver is currently on his way to Texas where a New Shepard rocket flight will be held. Oliver just graduated high school last year and plans to take out a pilot’s license after this flight.
Then he will study at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands, in September. On social media, Oliver often shows off his hobbies like surfing and diving. He is also familiar with Dutch Formula One driver Max Verstappen.
“We are honored to welcome Oliver to fly with us to New Shepard,” said Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith.
“This is the beginning of New Shepard’s commercial operations and Oliver represents a new generation of people who will help us build our way into space,” he added.
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