Local man fulfills dream, travels to space and back
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WJW) – The seven seconds where the capsule was surrounded by nothing but flames during liftoff felt like an eternity to Paul Jeris.
Other than that, his trip to outer space on Saturday was exactly what he expected it to be like and everything he'd dreamed of.
'You know, it's not cheap but it was worth every penny,' Jeris said.
As Fox 8 previously reported, Jeris got the call a few weeks ago that his time on the Blue Origin waiting list had come to an end and he'd be going to space.
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The flight on the New Shepard rocket system happened Saturday morning after several days of training in Texas. (You can view FOX 8's coverage of the launch in the video player below.)
Jeris and five others traveled just outside Earth's atmosphere for a few minutes and then came back down safely.
Despite being in a rocket blasting off to space, he told Fox 8 he stayed mostly calm.
'Honestly, I thought the level of apprehension would be an eight or a nine, but it was really only a three because it's out of your control,' he said.
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When Jeris emerged from the capsule back on land, he held up his arms to form the O-H-I-O movements, which he said was part of his plan all along.
'I'm a Put-In-Bay guy. You know, we're the Buckeyes. You know, your celebration moment – we're from Ohio man,' he explained.
While he isn't comparing himself to Neil Armstrong anytime soon, Jeris said he was honored to represent Ohio and join the long list of Ohioans who've been to space.
'I'm creeping in steps of giants, Okay? But the Karman line is the Karman line, you can say what it is. The Karman line is 62 miles,' Jeris said. 'I became lucky number 700 to cross the Karman line.'
His next goal is to go into orbit one day. Jeris, who previously told Fox 8 that he was always fascinated by rockets, especially growing up with a father who worked at NASA Glenn Research Center, said he'd go up again in a heartbeat.
He thanked everyone at Put-In-Bay who supported him through this journey.
Jeris also joked that he now has photos to prove that the Earth is round.
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