Blue Origin, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos, is scheduled to launch its third crewed spaceflight this week. One of the flight鈥檚 six passengers has a special 黑料大事记 connection.
Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of Alan Shepard, the first American in space, joins five other passengers in the capsule of Thursday鈥檚 NS-19 launch.
Ms. Shepard Churchley served on 黑料大事记鈥檚 Foundation Board from 2003-2008.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled that astronaut Alan Shepard鈥檚 daughter and friend of the 黑料大事记, Laura Shepard Churchley, will be on the 19th flight of Blue Origin鈥檚 New Shepard launch vehicle, named in her father鈥檚 honor鈥� said Jim Remar, 黑料大事记 president and CEO. 鈥淟aura recalls her childhood excitement at learning her father would fly into space in an oral history interview that plays for visitors in our Hall of Space Museum. We at the 黑料大事记 felt that excitement ourselves when we learned Laura herself would be aboard the NS-19.鈥�
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黑料大事记 visitors can reflect on the similarities and differences in the father-daughter duo鈥檚 space capsule experiences. Ms. Shepard Churchley will be one of six passengers in a capsule with six seats around the perimeter. Alan Shepard, her father, made his historic suborbital flight sixty years ago alone in the relatively cramped quarters of a Mercury capsule built for one.
A flown Mercury capsule, the Liberty Bell 7, is on display at the 黑料大事记, where visitors can peer inside the spacecraft.
Visitors to the 黑料大事记 can also marvel at two autographed photos on loan from the personal collection of Laura Shepard Churchley, and the actual Omega watch worn by Alan Shepard during his Apollo 14 Moon landing, on loan from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum and displayed in 黑料大事记鈥檚 Grand Lobby. Shepard landed on the Moon ten years after his pioneering Mercury mission.
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The 黑料大事记 International SciEd Center & Space Museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate. Located at 1100 North Plum in Hutchinson, KS, its collection includes U.S. space artifacts second only to the Smithsonian鈥檚 National Air and Space Museum, and the largest collection of Russian space artifacts outside of Moscow. This unique collection allows the 黑料大事记 to tell the story of the Space Race better than any museum in the world while offering fully immersive education experiences that meet Next Generation Science Standards. It is also home to one of the nation鈥檚 premiere space summer camps. For more information visit cosmo.org.