New York Giants football legend and Good Morning America co-anchor Michael Strahan has been talking about his recent trip to the edge of space, describing the adventure as “a special journey” and “almost like an out-of-body experience.”
Strahan blasted skyward courtesy of Blue Origin in what was the spaceflight company’s third crewed mission using its suborbital New Shepard rocket.
"It's almost like an out of body experience, it's hard to even believe it happened." @michaelstrahan talks going to space one-on-one with @arobach.
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— ABC News (@ABC) December 11, 2021
The five other passengers comprised Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Alan Shepard, the first American to fly to space and whom Blue Origin named its rocket after; Dylan Taylor, a space industry executive and philanthropist; investor Evan Dick; and Bess Ventures founder Lane Bess and his son, Cameron.
The 10-minute ride went precisely according to plan, with the rocket lifting off from Blue Origin’s launch site in West Texas on Saturday morning before climbing to above the Kármán line, the point 62 miles above Earth that’s generally considered to mark the start of space.
As the New Shepard booster returned to Earth to successfully perform an upright landing, the six passengers inside the capsule enjoyed amazing views way above Earth, as well as several minutes of weightlessness during which they could leave their seats and float around. A short while later they returned to their seats for the parachute-assisted ride back home. A video posted by ABC News showed the passengers during their period of weightlessness.
Video from inside the #BlueOrigin New Shepard capsule carrying our @michaelstrahan and the #NS19 crew this morning!
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— ABC News (@ABC) December 11, 2021
Speaking a short while after returning to Earth, Strahan, the best-known passenger among the group, said it was “hard to believe” the trip had even happened. He added that blasting off from the launch pad and floating around inside the capsule was “a crazy feeling.”
In comments released after the flight, Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith said it had been “a great year” for the company as it moves toward the launch of a full-fledged space tourism service that will not only offer seats to high-paying passengers, but also give scientists another way to conduct experiments in microgravity conditions.
Virgin Galactic, founded by billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson, is also aiming to launch a similar service.
While such tourism services open up the experience of space travel to more people than ever before, critics argue the rocket rides serve little purpose and could even impact global warming by pumping more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Blue Origin also has ambitions to build orbital rockets and even a next-generation space station for low-Earth orbit.
