Jeff Bezos wins billionaire space race, heading to moon with his brother

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is set to beat his billionaire buddies to space, announcing he will make the trip next month with his brother.

Jeff Bezos is set to beat his billionaire rivals to space.

The New York Post reported the world’s second richest man will fly to space next month on Blue Origin’s first crewed flight.

The flight is scheduled for July 20, Mr Bezos said in an Instagram post. That’s about two weeks after he is set to resign as CEO of Amazon.

Mr Bezos’ younger brother Mark will join him, as will the winner of a public auction currently being held for another seat. Bidding on the auction scurrently stands at $US2.8 million ($A3.6 million).

“Ever since I was five years old, I’ve dreamed of travelling to space,” Mr Bezos said on Instagram. “On July 20th, I will take that journey with my brother. The greatest adventure, with my best friend.”

This undated handout photo shows a close-up of the New Shepard rocket as it launches in West Texas.

In a hashtag in the post, Mr Bezos gave a nod to the Latin phrase, “Gradatim ferociter,” which means “step by step, ferociously.”

“I want to go on this flight because it’s the thing I’ve wanted to do all my life,” Mr Bezos added in a video announcement.

Barring surprises, the trip would make Bezos the first of the billionaire space tycoons to travel to space through their own companies. Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, and Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic, have yet to ride with their companies to space.

Elon Musk is the funder of SpaceX

Mr Musk has spoken before about travelling to space with his company but has not yet given a firm timeline.

Mr Branson, whose Virgin Galactic wants to compete directly with Blue Origin in the space tourism sector, has spoken often about his plans to be among the first of his company’s passengers to space. But delays have seen Virgin Galactic’s earliest expected passenger flights pushed to later this year.

Richard Branson could shoot into space on his Virgin Galactic aircraft as its first passenger early next year.

New Shepard, Blue Origin’s rocket ship, has flown more than a dozen successful uncrewed test flights.

The system is designed to carry as many as six people at a time on a ride to the edge of space.

The date of the company’s first crewed flight, July 20, will also mark the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and is republished here with permission