25.11.2021
Blue Origin to fly 1st astronaut's daughter, GMA host on New Shepard
Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of the first American in space Alan Shepard, is seen wearing a Blue Origin cap at the first human flight of the company's New Shepard launch vehicle in July 2021. Churchley is set to follow in her father's footsteps, flying on Blue Origin's third crewed flight in December. (Blue Origin)
Sixty years after watching her father launch on the first American spaceflight, Laura Shepard Churchley is ready to follow in his footsteps.
The eldest daughter of the late Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, Churchley has been confirmed to fly on Blue Origin's New Shepard launch vehicle as a member of its third human spaceflight and first six-person crew. Scheduled to take flight from the company's West Texas launch site on Dec. 9, the NS-19 mission will also include former professional football player and "Good Morning America" (GMA) anchor Michael Strahan, who will become the first Black person to launch aboard a suborbital spaceflight.
The NS-19 crew, including four additional paying passengers — Dylan Taylor, Evan Dick and Lane and Cameron Bess — was announced by Blue Origin on Tuesday (Nov. 23).
Churchley, now 74, was 14 years old when her father climbed aboard the Mercury capsule "Freedom 7" and lifted off on the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission on May 5, 1961. The 15-minute suborbital flight reached just over 100 nautical miles (116.5 statute miles or 187.5 km) before returning to a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean — a moment that Churchley recalled after watching the first crewed New Shepard launch in July.
"It was a thrill," said Churchley, sharing her impressions on a webcast following the New Shepard flight. "It brought back lots of memories, especially when the parachutes came out, because I remember that on Daddy's first flight in 1961."
On board that July 2021 flight were four crew members, including Blue Origin's billionaire founder Jeff Bezos, the former chief executive officer of Amazon.com.
"For our purposes today, the thing that is most interesting about Alan Shepard is that he is the namesake for this vehicle, New Shepard, and that is because the mission profile we did today is very similar to the one that Alan flew when he became the first American in space sixty-ish years ago," Bezos said at a press conference following his own flight into space.
Launching on NS-19, Churchley will become the second, second-generation U.S. astronaut to fly into space. She is preceded only by Richard Garriott, the son of Skylab and space shuttle astronaut Owen Garriott, who funded his own trip to the International Space Station in 2008.
Unlike her father, who flew to space alone, Churchley will launch with five others on Blue Origin's first spaceflight to fill all six seats aboard the New Shepard capsule. The prior two crewed spaceflights flew with only four passengers each.
The Dec. 9 launch will mark the 19th flight of the New Shepard system, which includes a vertical take-off-and-landing booster and a crew capsule equipped with what Blue Origin describes are the largest ever windows to fly into space. Joining Churchley and the four other NS-19 crew members will be Strahan, who at 6 feet, 5 inches tall (196 cm), will become the tallest person in history to reach space.
"I have to say, there are a lot of people who look and they go, 'You know what? Billionaires spend a lot of money to go into space,' but this is bigger than that," Strahan said in an interview with Bezos after Blue Origin's first human flight. "This is not just about you trying to go to space, this is so big in terms of education and for things that are going on on this planet."
Like Churchley, Strahan attended the July launch. He helped cover the mission for GMA from Blue Origin's launch and landing site near Van Horn, Texas.
"I wouldn't have considered doing this until I saw you today. [It's] the most amazing thing I have seen in my life," Strahan told Bezos.
Strahan and Churchley are flying as guests of Blue Origin, like "Mercury 13" pilot Wally Funk and "Star Trek" actor William Shatner were on the first and second New Shepard crewed flights, respectively. As a crew member, Strahan will receive a stipend, which is being donated to The Boys & Girls Club.
The four paying passengers aboard NS-19 include Taylor, chairman and CEO of the space exploration firm Voyager Space and founder of the nonprofit Space for Humanity; Dick, an engineer and investor who is a volunteer pilot for Starfighters Aerospace; and the first parent-child pair to fly into space, Bess Ventures founder Lane Bess and Cameron Bess, a content creator who identifies as pansexual.
Though three paying passengers have already flown, Blue Origin has yet to disclose the price for a seat on New Shepard. The company sold its first available seat to a still-unnamed auction winner who paid $28 million but has yet to fly. The auction proceeds were donated to Blue Origin's non-profit foundation, Club for the Future, which in turn gave $1 million to each of 19 space-based charities — including the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, which was co-founded by Alan Shepard and is led in part today by Churchley as the chair of the Board of Trustees.
Strahan will be the second retired NFL football player to launch into space, having been a defensive end for the New York Giants for 15 seasons. The first, Leland Melvin, logged more than 23 days in Earth orbit on two space shuttle missions as a NASA astronaut from 1998 to 2010.
Strahan will also be the second television news personality to fly into space after Toyohiro Akiyama, who launched to Russia's space station Mir as a correspondent for the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) in 1990.
The current Guinness World Record for the tallest person in space is held by two NASA astronauts: James "Jim" Wetherbee and James "Ox" van Hoften. Both stood 6 feet, 4 inches tall (193 cm) when they lifted off on their respective space shuttle missions.
Barring any unforeseen developments before the launch on Dec. 9, the NS-19 crew will be the 35th to 40th people to launch on a suborbital spaceflight and the 604th through 609th to fly above 50 miles high (80 km), the U.S. definition of the boundary between Earth and space.
Michael Strahan, co-anchor of ABC's "Good Morning America" and a former Super Bowl Champion football player, is flying as a crew member on Blue Origin's NS-19 suborbital spaceflight. (Blue Origin)
Blue Origin's four NS-19 paying passengers: Dylan Taylor (top left), Evan Dick (top right), Lane Bess (bottom left) and Cameron Bess. Lane and Cameron Bess will become the first parent-child pair to fly in space. (Blue Origin)
Quelle: CS
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Update: 9.12.2021
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Michael Strahan's space journey on Blue Origin delayed due to high winds
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.— TV celebrity and former football great Michael Strahan is going to have to wait another few days before rocketing into space.
Strahan was supposed to blast off Thursday from West Texas with five others for the 10-minute flight. But on Wednesday, Jeff Bezos’ space travel company, Blue Origin, bumped the launch to Saturday because of high wind.
Strahan is a co-host of ABC’s “Good Morning America” and former NFL player. Joining him on the short hop will be Laura Shepard Churchley, the oldest daughter of America’s first astronaut, Alan Shepard, as well as four paying customers. The company hasn’t disclosed the price.
"Blue Origin – they approached me and they asked if I wanted to be a crew member and without hesitation, I said 'yes,' " Strahan told his "GMA" co-hosts Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos. "I wanted to go to space!"
The 50-year-old covered the first human space launch from Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin this summer and since then, has been "enamored" with the human space travel, he said.
"It’s going to take a while, but I do believe it will bring a lot of technological breakthroughs and also innovations to us here on earth … and I just wanted to be a part of it," he said.
The six space tourists will launch aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket, 60 years after its namesake’s pioneering Mercury flight.
It will be Blue Origin’s third launch with people on board. Bezos strapped in for the first passenger flight in July.
Strahan isn't the first familiar face to go to space. William Shatner, who is best known for his role in the original "Star Trek" series and the first six films in the "Star Trek" movie franchise, blasted into space with Blue Origin in October.
The 90-year-old actor became the oldest person to visit space, and he described an emotional experience after returning to Earth.
Quelle: USA Today
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Blue Origin to fly 100,000 postcards from UAE pupils into space
Schoolchildren were asked to draw their vision of the Emirates’ next 50 years
Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin will fly 100,000 postcards written by UAE pupils to space and return them to their senders with a “flown to space” stamp.
To celebrate the UAE’s Golden Jubilee, the children drew their vision for the country’s next 50 years on the postcards. These included futuristic cars, going to the Moon, landing on Mars and planting the national flag on another planet.
A New Shepard suborbital flight by the billionaire Amazon founder's space tourism company will carry the messages to space next year.
Blue Origin’s non-profit Club for the Future foundation has been flying postcards written by pupils all over the world since 2019, using its reusable launch vehicle.
Now, the Emirates Post Group, Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, UAE Space Agency and AzurX – a Dubai-based innovation and strategy firm that supports space sector opportunities – is collaborating with the foundation to involve the Emirates on a large scale.
“As Blue Origin’s UAE and regional representative, it is a privilege to bring international, UAE government and private entities together to initiate the Postcards to Space initiative on this momentous occasion of the UAE Jubilee and get the youth inspired to think big and bold looking ahead to the next 50 years of the nation from space,” Anna Hazlett, founder of AzurX, said.
Among schools that took part were the International School of Creative Science in Muwaileh, in Sharjah, and the Al Mawakeb School in Al Garhoud, in Dubai.
UAE astronauts Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati in space, and Sultan Al Neyadi made surprise visits to schools while the pupils decorated their postcards.
“We are working on a number of initiatives with our international partners to inspire future generations, build awareness around the space sector and the ecosystem surrounding it which future generations can, and will very likely be part of,” Ms Hazlett said.
“Space careers of the future is where we are headed.”
Mr Bezos announced the educational project in May 2019 and said that it was designed to inspire young people and get them thinking about a future in space.
For the first set of postcards, pupils in different parts of the world were asked to write their dreams of the future.
The private space flight company flew them into space later that year, among other cargo, and then mailed them back.
Is it unclear whether the postcards by UAE pupils will be flown on a single or multiple flights, but a set will be sent on a space flight in 2022.
Blue Origin, which has flown eight people to space, is building its presence in the UAE.
AzurX is working with Blue Origin on its localisation strategy. It would also assist customers with space tourism flights and opportunities on Orbital Reef – a private space station announced by Blue Origin.
In October, Blue Origin and the UAE Ministry of Economy agreed to develop a plan that would accelerate the ministry’s ambition for economic development through space activities, including space tourism.
On December 9, Blue Origin is flying six more passengers to space, including Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of America’s first astronaut Alan Shepard, and former American football star Michael Strahan.
Quelle: The National
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Update: 10.12.2021
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Kent-based Blue Origin delays rocket launch to Dec. 11
Forecasted winds pushes launch out two days; flight into space includes Michael Strahan
Michael Strahan prepares for a flight into space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard. The flight is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 11. COURTESY PHOTO, Michael Strahan
Kent-based Blue Origin has delayed its New Shepard launch to Saturday, Dec. 11 from Thursday, Dec. 9, due to forecasted winds at its launch site in West Texas.
The 10-minute flight into space will include “Good Morning America” co-anchor Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Alan Shepard, who was the first American to fly to space.
Liftoff is scheduled for 6:45 a.m.
“The team has completed Flight Readiness Review and confirmed the vehicle has met all mission requirements for launch,” according to a Dec. 8 Blue Origin statement. “Astronauts will complete training today and weather remains as the only gating factor for launch.”
Live launch coverage can be found at BlueOrigin.com.
Quelle: KENT REPORTER
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Update: 11.12.2021
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Blue Origin Completes Third Human Spaceflight
December 11, 2021
The NS-19 mission marks the sixth flight of the year for the program
Blue Origin today successfully completed the third human spaceflight - the first with six astronauts on board. The astronaut manifest included, Laura Shepard Churchley, Michael Strahan, Evan Dick, Dylan Taylor, Cameron Bess, and Lane Bess.
The crew of New Shepard NS-19. Pictured from left to right: Dylan Taylor, Lane Bess, Cameron Bess, Laura Shepard Churchley, Michael Strahan, and Evan Dick.
Quelle: Blue Origin