posted 12-05-2021 09:05 AM               

Astronaut's daughter packs dad's mementos for Blue Origin launch

Laura Shepard Churchley is bringing more than just memories of her father on her upcoming Blue Origin launch into space. As the eldest daughter of the United States' first astronaut, Churchley has packed a stash of special items that not only made the trip before, but went further — to the moon and back.

Churchley was 14 years old when her dad, Alan Shepard, lifted off on NASA's first human spaceflight, Mercury-Redstone 3, on May 5, 1961. Now 74, Churchley is not only following in her father's footsteps, but his trajectory, too. The suborbital flight path that Blue Origin's aptly-named "New Shepard" rocket will fly is slightly lower than Shepard trailblazed 60 years ago.

"I know we are going to get training so I will know what to expect, but it looks like the same thing that Daddy did, just about five minutes shorter," Churchley said in an interview with collectSPACE.

posted 12-09-2021 07:31 PM               

When Strahan shoots into space, he'll take along the 12 shell casings from the 12-gun salute performed at his father Gene's funeral, his Super Bowl XLII Ring, his Pro Football Hall of Fame Ring of Excellence and two watches: a pocket watch that belonged to his maternal grandfather, and a rare De Bethune DB28 Kind of Blue Z timepiece with a celestial face and moon-phase function. He'll also bring up a pearl necklace from his girlfriend Kayla Quick's late grandmother, his ABC and FOX employee ID cards and a lucky $2 bill.