Good Morning America host and former New York Giants athlete Michael Strahan has returned from his trip to the heavens via a Blue Origin rocket.
Strahan and five other blasted off to space and back Saturday morning, becoming Blue Origin’s third human flight this year and the first with a full astronaut manifest, according to ABC News.
The total time for the mission was only 10 minutes and 13 seconds, astonishingly. The maximum ascent velocity was a mind-boggling 2,244 miles per hour or 3,611 kilometers per hour — a speed that would surely to snag you a traffic ticket in any terrestrial form of travel.
Upon returning to the ground, Strahan had a huge grin on his face and posted a video reaction afterwards with a caption that read, “TOUCHDOWN has a new meaning now!!!”
“It’s hard to even describe it. It’s gonna take a little bit to process it,” he said.
Strahan’s crewmates included Laura Shepard Churchly, the oldest daughter of the first American to fly into space in 1961, Alan Shepard, for which the new Shepard rocket is named.
The shuttle also carried four paying customers. Blue Origin has yet to publicly disclose the price of the tickets, meaning it’s probably exorbitantly high.
When the crew hit zero gravity, Strahan and co could be heard cheering during the live broadcast.
The excited crew was greeted by Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos upon exiting the capsule. Strahan could be heard saying “it’s unreal” and the crewmates gave each other hugs.