Blue Origin moves to the next phase of its spaceflight auction

Catch up quick: The New Shepard is designed to bring six passengers up about 100 kilometers from Earth's surface before bringing them back down under parachutes.

• During the flight, customers will be experience weightlessness and see Earth against the blackness of space.
• The bidding for the seat started off as a secret, but on Tuesday, the company entered a new phase in which the high bid is publicly advertised on its website. More than 5,200 participants from 136 countries have bid, according to Blue Origin.
• The process will end on June 12 with a live, online auction, and the flight should launch in July.

The big picture: Blue Origin isn't the only company trying to strike it big with the market for suborbital space tourism.

• Virgin Galactic is also working to get its system ready for paying customers, but the company has hit a number of snags recently that may have contributed to a drop in its stock price.