Latest news with #KeaAerospace
Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Mark Rocket: Who is Mark Rocket? The Christchurch entrepreneur who just became the first New Zealander in space
ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT With a name like Rocket, it was only a matter of time. On Sunday, Christchurch aerospace entrepreneur Mark Rocket lived up to his name, becoming the first New Zealander to fly to 55-year-old soared aboard Virgin Galactic 's Galactic 07 mission, a suborbital flight launched from Spaceport America in New Mexico. As the spacecraft arced above Earth, reaching an altitude of about 88 kilometres, Rocket joined a rare group of civilians who have witnessed the planet from the edge of space and returned safely.'I've been dreaming of this for a long time,' Rocket said after the flight. 'It was surreal. The Earth looked incredible from up there.'Born Mark Stevens, he legally changed his name to Mark Rocket in 2003 to reflect his passion for space. He was an early investor and the first customer of Rocket Lab, New Zealand's prominent space launch company, although he is no longer co-founded Kea Aerospace , a Christchurch-based company developing solar-powered aircraft to collect high-altitude data. He is also the current president of the Aerospace New Zealand industry group, which supports the country's growing space sector.'This flight isn't just about me,' Rocket said. 'It's about inspiring others in Aotearoa to dream bigger, reach higher, and see space as part of our future.'The Virgin Galactic flight lasted around 90 minutes from takeoff to landing. Rocket was joined on board by passengers from the US, Ukraine, and Austria, as well as two Virgin Galactic crew spacecraft, VSS Unity , was carried into the sky by a mothership before being released to fire its rocket engine and soar into space. It was Unity's final flight, and it is now being retired after completing seven commercial said he had been training for the experience since 2022 and felt honored to represent New Zealand. 'The view, the weightlessness — it was all incredible,' he said. 'I feel extremely grateful.'Prime Minister Christopher Luxon congratulated Rocket, calling the flight 'a proud moment for New Zealand's science and technology sector.''It's only the beginning,' Rocket said. 'There's so much more we can achieve.'
Time of India
3 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Who is Mark Rocket? The Christchurch entrepreneur who just became the first New Zealander in space
With a name like Rocket, it was only a matter of time. On Sunday, Christchurch aerospace entrepreneur Mark Rocket lived up to his name, becoming the first New Zealander to fly to space. The 55-year-old soared aboard Virgin Galactic 's Galactic 07 mission, a suborbital flight launched from Spaceport America in New Mexico. As the spacecraft arced above Earth, reaching an altitude of about 88 kilometres, Rocket joined a rare group of civilians who have witnessed the planet from the edge of space and returned safely. 'I've been dreaming of this for a long time,' Rocket said after the flight. 'It was surreal. The Earth looked incredible from up there.' Born Mark Stevens, he legally changed his name to Mark Rocket in 2003 to reflect his passion for space. He was an early investor and the first customer of Rocket Lab, New Zealand's prominent space launch company, although he is no longer involved. Rocket co-founded Kea Aerospace , a Christchurch-based company developing solar-powered aircraft to collect high-altitude data. He is also the current president of the Aerospace New Zealand industry group, which supports the country's growing space sector. Live Events 'This flight isn't just about me,' Rocket said. 'It's about inspiring others in Aotearoa to dream bigger, reach higher, and see space as part of our future.' The Virgin Galactic flight lasted around 90 minutes from takeoff to landing. Rocket was joined on board by passengers from the US, Ukraine, and Austria, as well as two Virgin Galactic crew members. The spacecraft, VSS Unity , was carried into the sky by a mothership before being released to fire its rocket engine and soar into space. It was Unity's final flight, and it is now being retired after completing seven commercial missions. Rocket said he had been training for the experience since 2022 and felt honored to represent New Zealand. 'The view, the weightlessness — it was all incredible,' he said. 'I feel extremely grateful.' Prime Minister Christopher Luxon congratulated Rocket, calling the flight 'a proud moment for New Zealand's science and technology sector.' 'It's only the beginning,' Rocket said. 'There's so much more we can achieve.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
1st New Zealander reaches space on Blue Origin flight
May 31 (UPI) -- Blue Origin's 12th human spaceflight carried the first New Zealander into space and back on Saturday morning in West Texas. The flight carried six passengers beyond the Karman Line, which is the internationally established boundary between space and Earth's atmosphere at an elevation of 62 miles, reported. Among the passengers was Mark Rocket, who is an aerospace executive from Christchurch, New Zealand, and is that nation's first citizen to reach space. Rocket changed his surname many years ago in honor of his passion for space travel, TVNZ1 reported on May 22. "Ever since I was a kid, I've always been fascinated by space technology and space travel," he said. "We live in a solar system, which is vast; a galaxy, which is vast; and this incredible universe, which is just hard to imagine." Rocvket's fascination with space led to a career in aerospace, and before the flight he said he was looking forward to experiencing "3Gs of rocket-powered flight up to space." Rocket is the president of Aerospace New Zealand and ownsKea Aerospace, which is developing a solar-powered, unmanned aircraft capable of reaching the stratosphere to collect high-resolution data of the Earth below it. Other crew members The flight also carried K-12 STEM teacher Aymette Medina Jorge, former Panamanian ambassador to the United States Jaime Aleman and radiologist GretchenGreen into space, according to Blue Origin. Also aboard the spaceflight were businessman Jesse Williams and entrepreneur Paul Jeris. The six passengers were weightless for about three minutes while getting a unique view of the world from space. Upon landing back on Earth, Green called the experience "perfection." "There are very few things in life that were true perfection," Green told "When I looked out at space and back down to the Earth, [it] was perfect." 32nd successful spaceflight The spaceflight was the 32nd for Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin and its New Shepard program and launched at 8:39 a.m. CDT from Blue Origin's Launch Site One about 30 miles north of Van Horn near the U.S.-Mexico border. The New Shepard launch vehicle included the capsule that carried its passengers and a booster rocket. The capsule and booster rocket are reusable. The booster rocket separated from the capsule about 2.5 minutes into the flight, which allowed the capsule to continue its ascent into space before returning to Earth. The autonomous capsule used a propulsive system to slow its descent while making a vertical landing on a concrete pad near where it launched. New Shepard is named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space in 1961 and 10 years year was the fifth person to walk on the moon. The program is intended the ferry humans and scientific payloads into space. "We thank our customers for trusting us to give them the opportunity to appreciate Earth's fragility from above," said Phil Joyce, senior vice president of New Shepard. Joyce said the experience "truly transforms those who embark on it." Blue Origin's New Shepard program has carried 64 people into space and back, including singer Katy Perry and CBS broadcast Gayle King.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Blue Origin's next crew includes entrepreneurs and founders. Here's who's following Katy Perry and Lauren Sánchez into space.
Blue Origin announced new crewmembers for its next space mission, NS-32. It will be the first mission since its April mission, which sent Katy Perry and Lauren Sánchez into space. This crew includes business figures, entrepreneurs, and space enthusiasts. Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin has announced the crew for its next space mission, which includes business leaders, space enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs. It's a very different lineup from the crew on the previous mission, which included Katy Perry and Lauren Sánchez. This is who is going on Blue Origin's 32nd flight for an 11-minute journey into space. The launch date is yet to be announced. Mark Rocket is an entrepreneur and the CEO of Kea Aerospace, a company that sends remotely piloted aircraft into the stratosphere to collect aerial imagery and data. In 2007, he was a seed investor of Rocket Lab — an aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider — where he served as a co-director up until 2011, per his personal website. The company also sends high-altitude balloons to test communications, thermal modeling, and navigation. Rocket changed his surname to match his passion, per 1News. The trip will make him the first New Zealander in space. Jesse Williams, a Canadian entrepreneur, is the CEO of Car History Group — a company that provides public information about vehicles to prospective buyers. He claims on his LinkedIn profile to have launched his first business at the age of 15 and that his other ventures include eDirect, WuYi Tea, Dazzle White, and Penguin Leads. Paul Jeris, whose father was a NASA engineer, is a real estate businessman, entrepreneur, and world traveler who has visited more than 149 countries, per Blue Origin. In an interview after the news, he told Fox 8 News that he was "so excited" when he received the call. He said he was inspired from a young age as he watched historic launches such as Apollo and Viking. Amette Medina Jorge, a STEM teacher at Odyssey Academy in Galveston, Texas, has led more than 60 experiments focusing on space and zero gravity and performed in-flight 3D printing as part of a parabolic Zero-G flight. In 2013, she received the AIAA and Challenger Center Trailblazing STEM Educator Award, which celebrates those who inspire the next generation of STEM innovators. Jamie Alemán is a Panamanian attorney and a senior partner at the law firm Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee, which he set up. He was Panama's ambassador to the US from 2009 to 2011 and was also the country's minister of government and justice in 1988. Blue Origin said he would be the first person to go to space who has visited all 193 countries recognized by the United Nations, as well as the North and South Poles. Gretchen Green is a radiologist who also serves on the US Space and Rocket Center Education Foundation Board. The Rocket Center cites Gretchen as a four-time Space Camp program alumna. She set up her company, The Expert Resource, which connects medical expert witnesses with attorneys. She was one of the first teenagers to bicycle across the US from East to West, per her company's website. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
23-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Blue Origin's next crew includes entrepreneurs and founders. Here's who's following Katy Perry and Lauren Sánchez into space.
Blue Origin announced new crewmembers for its next space mission, NS-32. It will be the first mission since its April mission, which sent Katy Perry and Lauren Sánchez into space. This crew includes business figures, entrepreneurs, and space enthusiasts. Jeff Bezos 's Blue Origin has announced the crew for its next space mission, which includes business leaders, space enthusiasts, and entrepreneurs. It's a very different lineup from the crew on the previous mission, which included Katy Perry and Lauren Sánchez. This is who is going on Blue Origin's 32nd flight for an 11-minute journey into space. The launch date is yet to be announced. Mark Rocket Mark Rocket is an entrepreneur and the CEO of Kea Aerospace, a company that sends remotely piloted aircraft into the stratosphere to collect aerial imagery and data. In 2007, he was a seed investor of Rocket Lab — an aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider — where he served as a co-director up until 2011, per his personal website. The company also sends high-altitude balloons to test communications, thermal modeling, and navigation. Rocket changed his surname to match his passion, per 1News. The trip will make him the first New Zealander in space. Jesse Williams Jesse Williams, a Canadian entrepreneur, is the CEO of Car History Group — a company that provides public information about vehicles to prospective buyers. He claims on his LinkedIn profile to have launched his first business at the age of 15 and that his other ventures include eDirect, WuYi Tea, Dazzle White, and Penguin Leads. Paul Jeris Paul Jeris, whose father was a NASA engineer, is a real estate businessman, entrepreneur, and world traveler who has visited more than 149 countries, per Blue Origin. In an interview after the news, he told Fox 8 News that he was "so excited" when he received the call. He said he was inspired from a young age as he watched historic launches such as Apollo and Viking. Amette Medina Jorge Amette Medina Jorge, a STEM teacher at Odyssey Academy in Galveston, Texas, has led more than 60 experiments focusing on space and zero gravity and performed in-flight 3D printing as part of a parabolic Zero-G flight. In 2013, she received the AIAA and Challenger Center Trailblazing STEM Educator Award, which celebrates those who inspire the next generation of STEM innovators. Jamie Alemán Jamie Alemán is a Panamanian attorney and a senior partner at the law firm Alemán, Cordero, Galindo & Lee, which he set up. He was Panama's ambassador to the US from 2009 to 2011 and was also the country's minister of government and justice in 1988. Blue Origin said he would be the first person to go to space who has visited all 193 countries recognized by the United Nations, as well as the North and South Poles. Gretchen Green Gretchen Green is a radiologist who also serves on the US Space and Rocket Center Education Foundation Board. The Rocket Center cites Gretchen as a four-time Space Camp program alumna. She set up her company, The Expert Resource, which connects medical expert witnesses with attorneys. She was one of the first teenagers to bicycle across the US from East to West, per her company's website.
