{"id":10778,"date":"2021-12-11T23:19:46","date_gmt":"2021-12-11T15:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/michael-strahan-alan-shepards-daughter-and-four-others-rocket-into-space\/"},"modified":"2021-12-11T23:19:46","modified_gmt":"2021-12-11T15:19:46","slug":"michael-strahan-alan-shepards-daughter-and-four-others-rocket-into-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/michael-strahan-alan-shepards-daughter-and-four-others-rocket-into-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Strahan, Alan Shepard\u2019s daughter and four others rocket into space"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>STORY WRITTEN FOR&nbsp;CBS NEWS&nbsp;&amp; USED WITH PERMISSION<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_54758\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-54758\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-54758\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ns19quick1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"622\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ns19quick1.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ns19quick1-300x156.jpg 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ns19quick1-678x351.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/ns19quick1-768x398.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-54758\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin\u2019s founder, pins the company\u2019s astronaut wings on Laura Shepard Chesley as Michael Strahan and other crewmates look on. Credit: Blue Origin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Sixty years after her father became the first American in space, Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, rocketed out of the lower atmosphere Saturday, joining ABC TV host Michael Strahan and four others for a thrilling 10-minute climb to space and back.<\/p>\n<p>Strapped into Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard capsule, a spacecraft named after her father, Churchley and her fellow passengers blasted off from the company\u2019s West Texas launch site at 10 a.m. EST, shooting skyward atop a hydrogen-fueled single-stage rocket.<\/p>\n<p>The launching came two days later than planned because of high winds aloft, but it was smooth sailing Saturday as the stubby rocket roared away atop a jet of flaming exhaust, accelerating to a maximum velocity of 2,244 mph.<\/p>\n<p>Released from the booster about two minutes and 45 seconds after blastoff, Churchley, Strahan, aerospace entrepreneurs Evan Dick, Dylan Taylor, Lane Bess and his son Cameron were suddenly weightless, free to unstrap and float about the cabin as it coasted upward on a ballistic trajectory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCheck this out\u2026 oh my God!\u201d one of the passengers exclaimed amid laughter and obvious exhilaration, taking in the view of Earth and the black of space through the capsule\u2019s bay windows.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1469684358575501322&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2021%2F12%2F11%2Fmichael-strahan-alan-shepards-daughter-and-four-others-rocket-into-space%2F&amp;sessionId=5b88934a021edc7289bf5d4688baed9f75157045&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1469684358575501322\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782465375152616697=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Liftoff of Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard rocket from West Texas, carrying Michael Strahan, Laura Shepard Churchley, Lane and Cameron Bess, Evan Dick, and Dylan Taylor to suborbital space. https:\/\/t.co\/6vHDEIhqsD pic.twitter.com\/Bi1fMedXEV<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) December 11, 2021<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The spacecraft soared to an altitude of 65.8 miles \u2014 comfortably above the internationally recognized 62-mile-high \u201cboundary\u201d of space \u2014 before arcing over and beginning the long plunge back to Earth after about three minutes of weightlessness.<\/p>\n<p>The reusable booster flew itself back to a pinpoint landing about eight minutes after takeoff. The crew capsule, descending under three large parachutes, followed suit two minutes later, touching down in a cloud of dust to close out a 10-minute 13-second flight.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos and recovery personnel were on the scene in minutes to open the hatch and welcome the crew back to Earth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWelcome back, guys,\u201d Bezos said after opening the hatch. Strahan was first out, smiling, hugging the Amazon founder and greeting his excited family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the thing, the Gs, it\u2019s not a face lift, it\u2019s a face drop!\u201d he joked. \u201cI know what I\u2019m going to look like at 85.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He told Bezos \u201cmore people are going to be (drawn to this), it\u2019s going to be hard to get another ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve gotta pay for the next one,\u201d Bezos laughed.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1469686868816113664&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2021%2F12%2F11%2Fmichael-strahan-alan-shepards-daughter-and-four-others-rocket-into-space%2F&amp;sessionId=5b88934a021edc7289bf5d4688baed9f75157045&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1469686868816113664\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782465375152616697=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Blue Origin\u2019s crew capsule has landed, completing a 10-minute trip to suborbital space for former NFL player Michael Strahan, Laura Shepard Churchey \u2014 daughter of former NASA astronaut Alan Shepard \u2014 and four paying passengers. https:\/\/t.co\/6vHDEIhqsD pic.twitter.com\/DOzjCMXBiX<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) December 11, 2021<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The flight mirrored the Freedom 7 mission of Churchley\u2019s father, who rocketed away from Cape Canaveral on May 5, 1961, on a dramatic 15-minute sub-orbital flight to become the first American in space, the second overall after cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin beat NASA to the punch three weeks earlier.<\/p>\n<p>Shepard went on to walk on the moon as commander of the Apollo 14 mission in 1971, famously hitting a golf ball during a moonwalk.<\/p>\n<p>Churchley told Bezos she thought about her father\u2019s Mercury flight, tightly strapped into a cramped capsule with a tiny window while she was able to float free of her seat and take in panoramic views of Earth below.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe didn\u2019t get to enjoy any of what I was (enjoying),\u201d she told Bezos. \u201cHe was working.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was all business,\u201d Bezos agreed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight, he had to do it himself. I went along for the ride. \u2026 Blue Origin is the best.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Churchley and Strahan, a retired Hall of Fame professional football player and co-anchor of ABC\u2019s \u201cGood Morning America,\u201d flew as guests of Blue Origin and Amazon-founder Bezos.<\/p>\n<p>Their four crewmates bought their tickets for undisclosed amounts. Blue Origin does not discuss pricing and so far, no passengers have volunteered any details. But Lane Bess, presumably joking, said after landing, \u201cI\u2019m going to do it again. Get me in line!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: static; visibility: visible; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1469694292952289282&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2021%2F12%2F11%2Fmichael-strahan-alan-shepards-daughter-and-four-others-rocket-into-space%2F&amp;sessionId=5b88934a021edc7289bf5d4688baed9f75157045&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1469694292952289282\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782465375152616697=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The six passengers who flew to the edge of space on Blue Origin\u2019s New Shepard booster have emerged from their capsule in good health. They\u2019re joined by Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos in West Texas. https:\/\/t.co\/6vHDEIhqsD pic.twitter.com\/Z1kFNzKTof<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) December 11, 2021<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The 19th New Shepard mission \u2014 NS-19 \u2014 was Blue Origin\u2019s third flight with passengers on board, and the first with a full six-member crew. They called themselves the \u201cOriginal Six\u201d a play on NASA\u2019s \u201cOriginal Seven\u201d Mercury astronauts.<\/p>\n<p>Bezos, his brother Mark, 82-year-old aviation pioneer Wally Funk and Dutch teenager Oliver Daemen took off July 20 on the company\u2019s first piloted New Shepard flight. A second launch on Oct. 13 carried actor William Shatner, a Blue Origin executive and two entrepreneurs to space.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat you have given me is the most profound experience I can imagine,\u201d Shatner, on the verge of tears, told Bezos after the flight. \u201cI\u2019m so filled with emotion about what just happened. I just, it\u2019s extraordinary, extraordinary. I hope I never recover from this, I hope that I can maintain what I feel now, I don\u2019t want to lose it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Saturday\u2019s NS-19 mission was the 26th crewed sub-orbital flight since Alan Shepard\u2019s pioneering Mercury mission and the 7th in the competition between Blue Origin and Richard Branson\u2019s Virgin Galactic, which offers sub-orbital flights aboard a winged spaceplane.<\/p>\n<p>Virgin has launched eight pilots and other company officials, including Branson, on four flights since December 2018 and plans to begin commercial service next year. Blue Origin has now launched three crewed flights carrying 14 passengers, including seven who bought tickets.<\/p>\n<p>With Saturday\u2019s flight, 609 individuals have now flown in space. Of that total, 36 made sub-orbital flights, including six who also flew in orbit, and 41 have flown commercially.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>STORY WRITTEN FOR&nbsp;CBS NEWS&nbsp;&amp; USED WITH PERMISSION Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin\u2019s founder, pins the company\u2019s astronaut wings on Laura Shepard Chesley as Michael Strahan and other crewmates look on. Credit: Blue Origin Sixty years after her father became the first American in space, Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, rocketed out of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10778"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10778\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}