Football Hall of Famer-turned-morning TV host Michael Strahan will soon add “astronaut” to his résumé.
What You Need To Know
- "Good Morning America" co-host and former NFL star Michael Strahan will be among a crew of six people who will soar into space next month on Blue Origin’s third manned flight
- Liftoff for the New Shepard rocket is scheduled for 9 a.m. Central on Dec. 9 in the west Texas desert
- Strahan said Blue Origin approached him about joining the flight, "and without hesitation, I said yes"
- Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Alan Shepard — the first American to fly to space and the namesake of the Blue Origin spacecraft — was also invited
Strahan, who co-hosts ABC’s “Good Morning America,” will be among a crew of six people who will soar into space next month on Blue Origin’s third manned flight, the company announced Tuesday.
Liftoff for the New Shepard rocket is scheduled for 9 a.m. Central on Dec. 9 in the west Texas desert.
“I’m excited to get down there to Texas, to the Blue Origin training facility and enjoy the whole process,” Strahan, 50, said Tuesday morning on “GMA.”
For the first time, a New Shepard flight will carry six people into space, its full capacity. Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Alan Shepard — the first American to fly to space and the namesake of the Blue Origin spacecraft — were invited guests.
The crew also will include four paying customers: space industry executive and philanthropist Dylan Taylor, investor Evan Dick, Bess Ventures founder Lane Bess and Bess’ son, Cameron.
Lane and Cameron Bess will become the first parent-child pair to fly in space. Blue Origin has not disclosed how much the customers paid for their seats.
Strahan said Blue Origin approached him about joining the flight.
“And without hesitation I said yes,” he said. “I wanted to go to space.”
Strahan covered the first human New Shepard flight in July for “GMA,” whose crew included Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.
“I think being there at the first launch, it really was mind-blowing,” Strahan said Tuesday.
Strahan, who played 15 seasons in the NFL for the New York Giants, has already been fitted for his spacesuit, and because of his size — 6-foot-5, 255 pounds — Blue Origin employees had him try out a seat.
He says he’ll head to Texas in a week and a half to begin training.
According to “GMA,” Strahan will receive a stipend from Blue Origin for being a crew member, which will be donated to the Boys & Girls Clubs.
On July 20, Bezos, his brother Mark, 82-year-old aviation pioneer Wally Funk and 18-year-old Oliver Daemen blasted into space on Blue Origin’s first human flight. Funk became the oldest person to fly into space, while Daemen became the youngest.
In October, 90-year-old “Star Trek” icon William Shattner broke Funk’s record as part of the second crew.
The flights travel just beyond the Kármán Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space about 65 miles above sea level. Passengers are then be able to unbuckle and float weightlessly about the spacecraft for a few minutes before it begins its parachute-cushioned descent to the Texas desert.
The previous flights lasted just over 10 minutes. The New Shepard space vehicle is fully autonomous — there are no pilots.
Ryan Chatelain - Digital Media Producer
Ryan Chatelain is a national news digital content producer for Spectrum News and is based in New York City. He has previously covered both news and sports for WFAN Sports Radio, CBS New York, Newsday, amNewYork and The Courier in his home state of Louisiana.