Photo: Blue Origin via Twitter
The next person to go beyond our skies onboard Blue Origin's fourth crewed mission has been announced. The one that will join the crew is Gary Lai, the architect of the New Shepard system. In just over a week, Gary will finally have the chance to ride the rocket he has worked on for many years.
After initially announcing that Saturday Night Live's Pete Davidson would be the one that would join the crew that will go to space, Blue Origin has released a statement saying that he "is no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission." At the moment of writing, the company hasn't mentioned why the comedian is no longer part of the crew.
Nonetheless, his seat was taken by a man who has dedicated many years to bringing New Shepard to life. Gary Lai graduated from Cornell University (where he was a student of Carl Sagan) in 1995. He joined Blue Origin in 2004 and has since worked on several projects, including the New Shepard system, the rocket ship that sent Jeff Bezos into space for the first time.
He also led the team responsible for designing and developing many of the safety systems on the capsule that sits atop the rocket and transports passengers to space. Furthermore, Gary has worked on the New Glenn orbital launch vehicle, rocket engine projects, and the Blue Moon lunar lander concept. Currently, he holds several New Shepard patents and three patents in space system technology.
After spending so many years working on the rocket, Gary will now be able to travel the edge of space. He will fly alongside Marty Allen, SpaceKids Global founder Sharon Hagle, Tricor International president Marc Hagle, world explorer Jim Kitchen, and Commercial Space Technologies president Dr. George Nield.
Blue Origin's fourth human flight, NS-20, is scheduled to launch on Tuesday, March 29. The crew will travel to the edge of space, where it will experience zero-G for around 10 minutes before returning back to Earth.
Nonetheless, his seat was taken by a man who has dedicated many years to bringing New Shepard to life. Gary Lai graduated from Cornell University (where he was a student of Carl Sagan) in 1995. He joined Blue Origin in 2004 and has since worked on several projects, including the New Shepard system, the rocket ship that sent Jeff Bezos into space for the first time.
He also led the team responsible for designing and developing many of the safety systems on the capsule that sits atop the rocket and transports passengers to space. Furthermore, Gary has worked on the New Glenn orbital launch vehicle, rocket engine projects, and the Blue Moon lunar lander concept. Currently, he holds several New Shepard patents and three patents in space system technology.
After spending so many years working on the rocket, Gary will now be able to travel the edge of space. He will fly alongside Marty Allen, SpaceKids Global founder Sharon Hagle, Tricor International president Marc Hagle, world explorer Jim Kitchen, and Commercial Space Technologies president Dr. George Nield.
Blue Origin's fourth human flight, NS-20, is scheduled to launch on Tuesday, March 29. The crew will travel to the edge of space, where it will experience zero-G for around 10 minutes before returning back to Earth.
On March 29, #NewShepard Chief Architect Gary Lai will fly on the vehicle he’s spent 18 years designing, developing, testing, and flying. We can’t wait for Gary—a friend, mentor, and hero to all of us—to become Astronaut Gary Lai. Learn more: https://t.co/6HLHQOlf1I #NS20 pic.twitter.com/r8wze2u4y7
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) March 21, 2022
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