WHO IS OLIVER DAEMEN?
The Bezos brothers and Funk will be joined by a fourth passenger, Oliver Daemen.
Known as the “first paying customer” to fly on New Shepard, 18-year-old Daemen will become the youngest person to fly to space.
Daemen is a 2020 high school graduate who took a year off before going back to school to obtain his private pilot’s license.
The young astronaut will be attending the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands starting September 2021 to study physics and innovation management.
According to the Blue Origin website, Daemen has been fascinated by all things space since he was 4-years-old.
Daemen was offered the role as the first paying customer, after the anonymous Blue Origin auction winner had to postpone his trip to space due to “scheduling conflicts.”
“We thank the auction winner for their generous support of Club for the Future and are honored to welcome Oliver to fly with us on New Shepard,” said Bob Smith, CEO of Blue Origin, on their website.
“This marks the beginning of commercial operations for New Shepard, and Oliver represents a new generation of people who will help us build a road to space.”
Daemen is the son of Somerset Capital Partners CEO Joes Daemen.
Daemen’s father paid for the seat in the historic flight but opted to give the opportunity to his son instead of him.
This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
