Teenager Who Travelled To Space On Blue Origin Told Jeff Bezos He Has Never Ordered Anything From Amazon

The Dutch teenager who became the world¡¯s youngest space traveller told billionaire Jeff Bezos on the flight that he¡¯d never ordered anything on Amazon.com. Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old physics student, accompanied Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos and 82-year-old female aviator Wally Funk - the oldest person to go to space - on a 10-minute trip beyond Earth¡¯s atmosphere.

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¡°I told Jeff, like, I¡¯ve actually never bought something from Amazon," Daemen told Reuters in an interview on Friday at Amsterdam¡¯s Schiphol Airport. ¡°And he was like, ¡®oh, wow, it¡¯s a long time ago I heard someone say that¡¯."

Daemen was picked after another candidate bidding $28 million cancelled at the last minute.

¡°They called and said: Are you still interested?¡¯ and we were like ¡®Yes! Yes! Yes!'"

Reuters

Daemen had dreamt of going to space ever since he was a kid. He had followed every development by space exploration companies like Blue Origin and also got his pilot's license at a very young age.

¡°We didn¡¯t pay even close to $28 million, but they chose me because I was the youngest and I was also a pilot and I also knew quite a lot about it already."

¡°I don¡¯t think I realised it until I was in the rocket: ¡®wow, it¡¯s really happening¡¯," he said. ¡°It was my ultimate, ultimate goal ¡­ but I never thought it was going to be this soon."

When asked about his experience, he said, ¡°That was super cool. It¡¯s so weird to be weightless. It was easier than I had expected. It was kind of like being in water."

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Daemen is all set to start at Utrecht University in September. He is not sure what he wants to do in life eventually, but would seriously consider a career in space travel.

¡°They were super fun and all down to earth, as funny as that may sound," he said about his travel.