Sixty years after her father’s historic flight, she in turn follows in his footsteps: Laura Shepard Churchley, the daughter of Alan Shepard’s first American, will be one of the six passengers on Blue Origin’s next flight on early December.
Jeff Bezos space company announced today what will be its third manned flight with the take-off taking place in West Texas, on December 9.
One of the presenters of the TV show “Good Morning America”, Michael Strachan, also received an invitation from Blue Origin to travel.
The flight will also feature four other passengers who paid to have the experience: businessmen Dila Taylor and Evan Dick and a father with his son, Lane and Cameron Bess.
The Blue Origin spacecraft has been named New Shepard since its construction in honor of Alan Shepard.
“It’s funny enough for me to say that an authentic Shepard will fly with a New Shepard,” Laura Shepard Churchley said in a video released by Blue Origin.
“I am very proud of my father’s legacy,” he added.
On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard flew in 15 minutes, 23 days after the historic flight of Soviet Yuri Gagarin, who was the first man to travel in space. Shepard was also the fifth of the twelve men to date on the Moon. He passed away in 1998.
His daughter will not stay up there longer than her father, as Blue Origin sub-orbital flights last about 10 minutes in total.
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