Jeff Bezos launches Michael Strahan into space
Good Morning America host Michael Strahan, the daughter of Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepard, and four paying customers rode a rocket to the edge of space Saturday, courtesy of Jeff Bezos' aerospace company Blue Origin, CNN Business reports.
According to data from Space.com, the spacecraft launched at 42 seconds past 10 a.m. ET and was airborne for 10 minutes and 13 seconds. Its maximum velocity was 2,244 mph. The crew capsule reached an apogee of 347,580 feet above ground level. Bezos met them on the ground after landing and presented them with astronaut pins.
Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley both received their trips free of charge, as did William Shatner, who at age 90 took a trip on a Blue Origin rocket in October. "It's hard to even describe it. It's gonna take a little bit to process it," Strahan said in a video shared after his return to Earth.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The paying customers were investors Dylan Taylor, Evan Dick, and Lane Bess and Bess' 23-year-old son Cameron. The price of their tickets has not been publicly disclosed, but a ticket to accompany Bezos on his flight in July sold at auction for $28 million.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.
-
'The disconnect between actual health care and the insurance model is widening'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Cautious optimism surrounds plans for the world's first nuclear fusion power plant
Talking Point Some in the industry feel that the plant will face many challenges
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Explore new worlds this winter at these 6 enlightening museum exhibitions
The Week Recommends Discover the estrados of Spain and the connection between art and chess in various African countries
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
US won its war on 'murder hornets,' officials say
Speed Read The announcement comes five years after the hornets were first spotted in the US
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Earth's magnetic North Pole is shifting toward Russia
Under the radar The pole is on the move
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Indian space mission's moment in the Sun
Under the Radar Emerging space power's first solar mission could help keep Earth safe from Sun's 'fireballs'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Dark energy data suggest Einstein was right
Speed Read Albert Einstein's 1915 theory of general relativity has been proven correct, according to data collected by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Mars may have been habitable more recently than thought
Under the Radar A lot can happen in 200 million years
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
New DNA tests of Pompeii dead upend popular stories
Speed Read An analysis of skeletal remains reveals that some Mount Vesuvius victims have been wrongly identified
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
A giant meteor did double duty on Earth billions of years ago
Under the Radar Nutrients from the impact led to a "fertilizer bomb"
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
NASA's Europa Clipper blasts off, seeking an ocean
Speed Read The ship is headed toward Jupiter on a yearslong journey
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published