Want to bid on Blue Origin's space tourist seat auction? Be sure to read the fine print

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Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin plans to auction off a seat for its debut crewed spaceflight on July 20, but you should read the conditions carefully before applying.

Want to bid on Blue Origin's space tourist seat auction? Be sure to read the fine print : Read more

 

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Here is just a small example:

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1. Functional Requirements. The Astronaut must be able to meet each of the following functional requirements:
   1. Be within the following height and weight range: 5’0” 110 lbs. and 6’4” 223 lbs.
   2. Dress themselves in a one-piece, zip-up flight suit;
   3. Climb the New Shepard Launch Tower (equivalent to 7 flights of stairs) in under ninety (90) seconds; Walk quickly across uneven surfaces, such as a ramp or a deck with occasional steps.
   4. Be comfortable on the top deck of the launch tower and on the grated gangway to the CC. These are about seventy (70) feet above ground level and are surrounded by balcony-like railings. The view is equivalent to the view from a seventh floor balcony.
   5. Fasten and unfasten his/her own seat harness in under fifteen (15) seconds, which is about as difficult as fastening the seat-belt in an unfamiliar car in the dark.
   6. Sit strapped into the CC’s reclined seat for forty (40) minutes, but up to ninety (90) minutes if there is a long launch delay, without getting up, and without access to a bathroom.
   7. Spend forty (40) minutes, but up to ninety (90) minutes if there is a long hold, in the CC with up to five (5) other people with the CC hatch closed;
   8. Experience up to three times your normal weight (3gs) pushing you into your seat for up to two (2) minutes during powered ascent;
   9. Hear and understand instructions in English from a ground crewmember nearby or from mission control over a radio speaker, in an environment where the noise level can reach one hundred (100) dB during the Flight;
   10. See and respond to alert lights in the CC. At each seat, there is a panel of six (6) lighted symbols to indicate, for example, when to fasten the harness or leave the CC (the lights are similar to the warning lights on a car’s dashboard; the use of corrective lenses is permitted because glasses and contact lenses both function normally in zero-g);
   11. Reliably follow instructions provided either over the radio speaker or via the alert lights;
   12. Experience up to five-and-a-half times one’s normal weight (5.5gs) pushing the Astronaut into his/her seat for a few seconds during descent into the atmosphere; and
   13. Lowering down from the CC’s hatch opening to the ground after landing, which is equivalent to lowering down to the floor from a dining-room table (note that Blue Origin expects to provide the option of using stairs within a few minutes of landing).
2. Training. Blue Origin shall provide the Astronaut with familiarization and training as determined by Blue Origin in its sole discretion, to be necessary for the Astronaut to participate in the Flight. Familiarization and training may occur at Blue Origin’s facilities in Kent, Washington, in Culberson County, Texas, or in some other location that Blue Origin deems appropriate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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