Michael Strahan just made a historic touchdown! The 50-year-old former NFL star and host of Good Morning America took a trip to outer space on December 11 as a passenger on one of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rockets called the New Shepard. After a whopping 10 minutes of flight, the booster safely landed in Texas, where Michael was the first lucky space traveler to disembark to an enthusiastic crowd cheering on his return.
Jeff Bezos: "Welcome back guys!"@michaelstrahan and crew exit the Blue Origin New Shepard capsule to a hugs with family and friends.#BlueOrigin
LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/8apfTsHNS4 pic.twitter.com/lAKE4oqJZX— Good Morning America (@GMA) December 11, 2021
Beaming with excitement, Michael quickly hugged Jeff and Jeff’s girlfriend Lauren Sanchez and regaled them with anecdotes of his out-of-this-world experience, including his hilarious take on G-force. “The Gs — it’s not a facelift; it’s a face drop. I know what I’m going to look like at 85,” he quipped, before adding, “I wanna go back.”
Joining Michael on the third successful crewed mission for Blue Origin was Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of famous astronaut Alan Shepard, who was the first American to ever travel to space in May 1961. The four other passengers, who were paying customers, included Voyager Space Holdings executive Dylan Taylor, investor Evan Dick, Bess Ventures founder Lane Bess and his son Cameron. All six of the New Shepard riders couldn’t help but smile as Jeff pinned them with Blue Origin medals after the flight.
On November 23, Michael had shared the happy news that he was picked to board the rocket during an episode of GMA. “I will be blasting off in the new Blue Origin space launch!” he announced. “Blue Origin, they approached me and they asked if I wanted to be a crew member, and without hesitation, I said yes,” he explained. “I wanted to go to space. I think being there at the first launch, it really was mindblowing.” He also showed a montage of himself trying on the Blue Origin spacesuit and testing out his seat for the flight.
Michael is not the only recognizable face that took a trip on Jeff’s rockets, as William Shatner became the oldest person to travel to space on October 13. After landing, the Star Trek icon said, “It was unbelievable. To see the blue color go right by you, and then you’re staring at blackness, that’s the thing… It was so moving.”