NFL Hall Of Famer Michael Strahan And Alan Shepard's Daughter Go To Space: What You Should Know About Blue Origin's Flight

The latest space flight from Blue Origin featured six astronauts, including an NFL Hall of Famer and the daughter of one of the most famous astronauts of all time. Here are the details from the flight.

What Happened: NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan, formerly of the New York Giants, was one of six people who went to space Saturday.

“It was unbelievable. It couldn’t have gone better. I don’t know how to match this,” Strahan said in a video. The “Good Morning America” co-host also sang “I got my wings,” referring to receiving astronaut wings as part of the flight.

The New Shepard rocket launched Saturday morning in a flight that aired live on Walt Disney Company DIS unit ABC.

“I want to go back,” Strahan told Blue Origin and Amazon.com Inc AMZN founder Jeff Bezos after exiting the spacecraft after landing.

TOUCHDOWN has a new meaning now!!!

WOW…. that was amazing!!! 🚀🚀 @blueorigin @SMAC pic.twitter.com/xz54JT49f3

— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) December 11, 2021

Among the other people on the flight was Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of the late Alan Shepard. Laura’s father was the first American to fly in space. Blue Origin’s rocket is named after Shepard.

Churchley was around 14 when her father flew to space.

“He didn’t even get to enjoy it, like I did. He was working,” Churchley said Saturday.

Bezos joked with Churchley about the difference between her father's flight to the one she experienced.

“He wasn’t doing somersaults,” Bezos said.

Bezos drove some of the crew to the launch pad in a Rivian Automotive RIVN electric pickup truck. Rivian has been featured on all the Blue Origin space flights and counts Amazon as one of its top investors.

Strahan and Shepard were the two VIP passengers on the flight, which also featured four paying crew members. The paying passengers were Voyager Space CEO Dylan Taylor, Evan Dick (engineer and investor), Lane Bess (founder of a venture fund) and Cameron Bess. The father-child duo stream content on Twitch under the name MeepsKitten.

The former NFL star joked that the flight featured a face drop for him instead of a facelift, which could signal what he will look like in the future.

Strahan watched the flight that featured Bezos and other astronauts earlier this year, while reporting for “Good Morning America.”

Related Link: Beam Me Up Bezos! Star Trek Star William Shatner Headed To Space

Why It’s Important: Blue Origin’s flight on Saturday was its third crewed flight. The company has now sent Strahan, Churchley, William Shatner, Bezos and other to space on its flights.

Saturday’s flight featured six people, versus four on the first two crewed flights from the company.

Here are the best moments from @MichaelStrahan and crew's launch to space this morning aboard the @BlueOrigin New Shepard! https://t.co/JxGOInVg3N pic.twitter.com/Rj7cXvjyYe

— Good Morning America (@GMA) December 11, 2021

Celebrities like Strahan and Churchley follow a trend of famous people being featured on flights by Blue Origin and rival Virgin Galactic SPCE. Celebrities that include Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Justin Bieber and Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk are among those who have reserved future seats on Virgin Galactic spaceflights.

Several of the passengers on the flight said they wanted to go to space again, which bodes well for future space travel demand.

Saturday’s flight was the 18th consecutive landing for the New Shepard, according to Blue Origin.

Disclosure: Author is long SPCE shares.