Meet The 18-Year-Old Joining Jeff Bezos In Space
— 16 July 2021

Meet The 18-Year-Old Joining Jeff Bezos In Space

— 16 July 2021
Garry Lu
WORDS BY
Garry Lu

Dutch teen Oliver Daemen has been confirmed as the final passenger joining Jeff Bezos on Blue Origin’s maiden crewed spaceflight.

How exactly did a high school graduate secure this historic ticket to beyond the stratosphere? As it so happens, the anonymous party who initially won the seat with a US$28 million (AU$37.75 million) bid is such a goddamn operator, he faced a “scheduling conflict” deemed more important than bro-ing down with Bezos, shooting off to space, and making history.

It also helps that our soon-to-be spacefaring wunderkind is the son of Joes Daemen, Founder & CEO of Netherlands-based private equity firm Somerset Capital Partners (yes, there’s the lightbulb moment).

RELATED: 15,000 Sign A Petition To Deny Jeff Bezos Re-Entry To Earth

The younger Daemen has been described by Blue Origin as a lifelong space enthusiast who took a gap year after finishing up high school in 2020 to obtain his private pilot’s license.

“I’ve been dreaming about this all my life,” he explains.

“I am super excited to experience zero-G and see the world from above.”

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A post shared by Oliver Daemen (@oliver_daemen)

Once he touches back down to Earth, starting from this September, Daemen will attend the University of Utrecht where he’s currently enrolled to study Physics & Innovation Management. And who knows, given he’s already rubbing shoulders with the Bezos, employment at Blue Origin post-tertiary education may very well be on the cards.

The anonymous party with a scheduling conflict has reportedly penciled in a future mission. Oliver Daemen, on the other hand, will make history as the youngest person to travel into space come July 20th – joining Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder’s brother Mark Bezos, and 82-year-old aviator Wally Funk (who will herself become the oldest person to ever travel into space).

“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,” says Bob Smith, CEO of Blue Origin.

“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.”

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Garry Lu
WORDS by
After stretching his legs with companies such as The Motley Fool and the odd marketing agency, Garry joined Boss Hunting in 2019 as a fully-fledged Content Specialist. In 2021, he was promoted to News Editor. Garry proudly retains a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, black bruises from Muay Thai, as well as a black belt in all things pop culture. Drop him a line at [email protected]

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