Blue Origin, the commercial space company founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, has been on a roll recently. For the sake of fostering interest in the space tourism industry, he is conducting recurring launches with the New Shepard featuring high-profile clientele. He wants to make each launch a record-setting event.
Blue Origin announced the names of the six people who would fly aboard the New Shepard launch vehicle on December 9th. Laura Shepard Churchley is the daughter of Alan Shepard, the first American to go to space, and the fifth man to walk on the Moon.
He was the first American to fly to space as part of the Mercury Program in 1961, but he was also the fifth man to walk on the Moon as part of the Apollo 14 mission. Alan Shepard died of leukemia in 1998. He had three daughters, Laura, Julie, and Alice.
Julie has spent most of her life promoting space exploration and her father's accomplishments. They have continued to promote their father's legacy and encourage people to seek careers in space since his passing in 1998. Julie is the Chair of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Board of Trustees, which raises funds and mentoring for college students and scholars seeking careers in space-related research and science, technology, engineering and math.
Good Morning America co-anchor Michael Strahan was invited by Bezos. The four remaining paying customers are: Dylan Taylor, investor Evan Dick, Lane Bess, and his son. Lane and Cameron will be the first parent-child pair to fly to space, and they are the last two guests.
On Good Morning America yesterday, Julie spoke to fellow-traveler Michael Strahan about the upcoming launch and what she expects.
I am excited to be following in my father's footsteps. I am excited to go up into space and see what it looks like. I have been looking at stars with my father, and now we are going to get really close, and it will be exciting.
The New Shepard rocket is in West Texas. The image is of Blue Origin.
After noting Alan Shepard's many accomplishments in space, the interviewer asked what her father would think about the upcoming flight. Shepard told his daughters before he went to space that he was going to space.
I would have to tell him what I was going to do. He let us know when he was going up first in 1961. I would say that Blue Origin is going to put me in a spaceship and put it on top of a rocket. I will come back to Earth safely after they blast me up into space. That is what daddy told us. He would be sitting on the sofa listening to me. He would come over and give me a hug and kiss. He would say to Laura, "Go for it!" Have a great ride!
A two-time Emmy award winner, a Super Bowl champion, and a journalist, Michael Strahan is a well-known figure. He is an analyst for Fox on Sunday and the Thursday Night Football Pregame Show. The USO, HELP USA, and Merging Vets and Players are some of the charitable organizations that Michael Strahan supports. He will receive a stipend to donate to The Boys & Girls Club as an invited guest on this flight.
Taylor is the Chairman and CEO of the Denver based commercial space firm. He is also the founder of Space for Humanity, a global nonprofit that seeks todemocrat access to space, as well as a co-founding patron of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, a private industry group that seeks to promote the development of commercial human spaceflight.
The New Shepard capsule has an interior. Credit: Blue Origin.
Dick is an engineer, investor, and a charitable supporter of the Darwin Foundation, which supports the preservation of the Galapagos Islands, and the Population Relief International Corp, which provides free contraceptives and access to reproductive services. Dick is a volunteer for Starfighters, which maintains the only fleet of flight-ready F-104 supersonic aircraft at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
Bess is best known for co-founding Zscaler and Palo Alto Networks, as well as being a Trustee at Carnegie Mellon University. Bess' son is a content creator with a background in computer science, game design, and software development that helps marginalized communities represent themselves and inspire others.
Blue Origin's foundation, Club for the Future, will receive postcards from each of the astronauts on the NS-19 flight. The organization aims to help future generations pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The Postcards to Space program aims to give students access to space using Blue Origin's launch vehicles.
The launch will take place at the company's Launch site one facility in West Texas. This will be New Shepard's third crewed flight this year, the sixth launch since flights began earlier this year, and the 19th flight of the vehicle overall. The live coverage of the event will start 90 minutes before the event.
Further reading is Blue Origin.
