SEATTLE (AP) — Blue Origin announced on Wednesday that they will be launching six suborbital space travelers next month, including the first real estate agent to go into space.
The travelers will be flown aboard the New Shepard spacecraft, which is expected to reach an altitude of more than 100 kilometers. Among the passengers are a retired NASA astronaut, a billionaire tech entrepreneur, an 18-year-old Dutch physics student, and a Florida real estate broker.
Bob Behnken, a veteran astronaut who previously flew on the SpaceX Demo-2 mission, is among the six travelers on the upcoming Blue Origin flight. Behnken made history when he and astronaut Doug Hurley became the first astronauts to fly to the International Space Station on a commercial spacecraft. When asked about his upcoming flight with Blue Origin, Behnken said, "I'm excited to be a part of this historic mission, and I'm looking forward to experiencing weightlessness again. It's always an incredible feeling to see our planet from space, and I can't wait to share that with the other passengers on board."
Jared Isaacman, the CEO of the payments processing firm Shift4 Payments, is preparing to embark on his third spaceflight. “It never gets old,” Isaacman said on this morning’s GMA show.
Kristen Rabell, the Florida real estate broker, won her seat on the flight at a charity auction. She will be the first registered realtor to go into space. "I've always been fascinated by space and the idea of exploring new frontiers,” she told AP.
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos also expressed his excitement for the upcoming launch. "We're thrilled to be taking this diverse group of individuals to space and back," Bezos said in a statement. "It's a reminder of how space can bring people from all walks of life together."
When asked if he was nervous about the upcoming flight, Dutch physics student A.L. van der Meer said, "Of course, I have some nerves, but I am more excited than anything to understand the physical laws of Earth from a new perspective. Plus, I have full faith in Blue Origin's engineering and the crew’s training, so I am confident that everything will go smoothly."
Blue Origin emphasized that all safety protocols will be followed to ensure a safe and successful mission. The company also noted that this launch is part of their efforts to make space tourism accessible to everyone.
Rabell, the Florida real estate broker, said that she has always been interested in space and even took astronomy classes in college. “But I never thought I'd be the first real estate agent in space. Who knows where this might lead?" Rabell said, adding with a chuckle, "maybe I'll be the first one to sell lunar condos, or maybe even villas on Mars. The sky's not even the limit anymore!”
DISCLAIMER: The facts in this article are not true and are intended solely for the purposes of humor and satire. April Fool's!