An NFL legend will travel to outer space with Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin.
Good Morning America anchor Michael Strahan, a former defensive end who was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2014, announced on the show Tuesday morning that he will be heading into outer space.
Strahan will fly on Blue Origin’s New Shepard aircraft Dec. 9 with five others, including Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of famous astronaut Alan Shepard. The four others, such as venture capitalist Lane Bess and his son Cameron, investor Evan Dick, and Voyager Space CEO Dylan Taylor, paid for their ticket aboard the flight, according to 6abc. (RELATED: Bezos Offers To Waive $2 Billion In Fees To Secure Lunar Landing Contract)
JUST IN: @michaelstrahan is going out of this world – literally! – and will be flying on @BlueOrigin’s #NewShepard rocket on December 9! https://t.co/zubchTcMg9 pic.twitter.com/mwVqRQ7HAB
— Good Morning America (@GMA) November 23, 2021
Strahan, who is approximately 6 foot 3 inches tall, was measured for a special suit and is headed to Texas for training and additional safety lessons, and to meet his fellow crew members, 6abc reported.
“I wanted to go to space, I think being there at the first launch was just mind-blowing,” Strahan said. “I just wanted to be a part of it.”
(L-R) Planet Labs co-founder, Chris Boshuizen; “Star Trek” actor William Shatner; and Medidata Solutions Co-Founder, Glen de Vries, speak before a press conference at the New Shepard rocket landing pad on October 13, 2021, in the West Texas region, 25 miles (40kms) north of Van Horn. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
Blue Origin said in a press release that “Lane and Cameron Bess will become the first parent-child pair to fly in space.”
“This mission furthers the company’s vision of millions of people living and working in space for the benefit of Earth,” the statement reads. “It will be New Shepard’s third human flight this year, the sixth for the program in 2021, and the 19th in its history.”
Blue Origin’s first passenger flight to outer space took place in July. Famous actor William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk in “Star Trek,” was aboard the second flight in October.