Blue Origin said Thursday an 18-year-old paying customer will fly to space on board the company's maiden crewed spaceflight on July 20, becoming the youngest ever astronaut.

Oliver Daemen, who graduated from high school in 2020 and holds a private pilot's license, is not the winner of a $28 million auction, who has asked to remain anonymous and will fly on a future mission, the company said.

"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," said Bob Smith, CEO of Blue Origin.

Flying on New Shepard will fulfill a lifelong dream for Daemen, who has been fascinated by space, the Moon, and rockets since he was four, a statement said.

He plans to attend the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands to study physics and innovation management this September.

Daemen joins Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, Jeff's brother Mark, and Wally Funk aboard the first human flight involving the New Shepard spaceship.

At 18-years-old and 82-years-young, Daemen and Funk will be the youngest and oldest astronauts to travel to space.

ESA's first Earth observation mission dedicated to understanding our planet, the European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS-1), was launched into orbit on 17 July 1991. At the time, it was the most sophisticated Earth observation spacecraft developed and launched by Europe.

Thirty years ago, as the team went through the launch and early-orbit phase, the first synthetic aperture radar images were awaited in Kiruna and Fucino. Featuring video footage taken in 1991, the team involved tells the story of the anxious moments and important breakthroughs they made as the first images arrived.