When Oliver Daemen blasts off on July 20, he’ll be making history as the youngest person to travel to space. The Dutch teen will join Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, Bezos’ brother Mark and aviator Wally Funk aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft, which will be carrying human passengers for the first time ever. Billionaires in space: who’s winning out of Musk, Bezos and Branson? Daemen, who is currently 18, is Blue Origin’s first paying customer: he bid for the seat at an auction last month, ultimately losing out to an anonymous bidder who paid US$28 million for the opportunity. But Daemen is flying in that passenger’s place after “scheduling conflicts” arose, Blue Origin said in a blog post on Thursday, July 15. How did Laurene Powell Jobs meet – and marry – late Apple CEO Steve Jobs? In a video posted to Twitter, Daemen said he’s “super excited” to go into space. “I’ve been dreaming about this all my life,” he said. “I am super excited to experience zero-g and see the world from above.” De 18-jarige Oliver Daemen uit Tilburg wordt de jongste astronaut ooit en de vierde Nederlander in de ruimte. Hij gaat mee met de ruimtereis van #BlueOrigin van #JeffBezos . Oliver is onderweg naar Texas, waar de lancering dinsdag plaatsvindt. https://t.co/hMsJWorRQK pic.twitter.com/5Xl3mqSAJt — Bright (@Bright) July 15, 2021 According to Dutch news service RTL Nieuws, Daemen has already left for Texas, where New Shepard will launch, to complete astronaut training ahead of lift-off on Tuesday. So who is Oliver Daemen and how did he become a passenger on the highly anticipated space flight? Here’s what we know so far. Is space the next frontier of luxury? Bezos, Musk and Branson seem to think so He is the son of a private equity firm CEO Joes Daemen founded Somerset Capital Partners, a real estate private equity firm, in 2005. The firm is based in Oisterwijk, Netherlands. According to CNBC, Daemen took part in the auction and had already secured a seat on Blue Origin’s second flight, but the company “moved him up” when the auction winner deferred. Daemen’s father paid for the seat, though the company hasn’t disclosed how much he paid, CNBC reports. Move aside, Kylie: the youngest billionaire in the world is now a German teen He’s starting university this autumn Daemen graduated high school in 2020 and took a gap year – beginning this September, he’ll attend the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands where he’ll study physics and innovation management, according to Blue Origin. He’s a fan of water sports If Daemen’s Instagram account is any indication, he’s spent much of his free time on the water. Over the years, he’s posted pictures of himself snorkelling, surfing and wakeboarding. Inside Shah Rukh Khan’s Delhi home – once part of an Airbnb competition He’s rubbed elbows with Dutch celebrities Daemen posted a photo to his Instagram account in 2018 of him, his sister, DJ Martin Garrix and Formula One driver Max Verstappen. He’s fascinated with flight and outer space Daemen spent his gap year working on getting his pilot’s license, and this trip to space is the culmination of a lifelong interest, according to Blue Origin. “Flying on New Shepard will fulfil a lifelong dream for Oliver, who has been fascinated by space, the moon, and rockets since he was four,” the company said. Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .