It’s a little later than previously estimated, but the aerospace company backed by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin, says its planning to take customers into space within the next 18 months—or by April 2019.
Early on, Blue Origin had said it planned to test flights in 2017 with pilots and engineers, and take customers on rides in 2018. The company later said that those test flights likely wouldn’t happen until next year.
“Within the next 18 months we’re going to be launching humans into space,” Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith said during the National Space Council meeting Thursday, according to CNN. Smith added that the passengers would be “everyday citizens.”
It’s still unclear how much the 11-minute ride is expected to cost. Though a similar trip on Virgin Galactic is priced at $250,000.
SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk meanwhile plans to send two paying passengers to fly around the moon in late 2018.
