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NZ Herald

Aerospace entrepeneur Mark Rocket to become first Kiwi in space on Blue Origin flight

He's also the current president of Aerospace New Zealand and a seed investor of Rocket Lab, co-directing the company from 2007 to 2011. Rocket said he hopes heading skywards will inspire more New Zealanders to get involved in its fledgling aerospace sector. 'This flight is a significant personal milestone and a signal that New Zealand is an active player in the global aerospace industry,' he wrote in a media release. 'We have the talent, ambition, and ingenuity to make major contributions. 'Space is no longer the domain of superpowers and science fiction. It's an exciting frontier for innovation, climate solutions, economic opportunity, and global collaboration.' Twenty-five years ago, Rocket pledged he'd become the first New Zealander to reach space, legally changing his surname in 2000 as a reflection of his commitment to the field. Initially buying a ticket to board a Virgin Galactic rocket in 2006, Rocket changed to the Blue Origin programme after Virgin Galactic began experiencing delays and issues in launching its commercial spaceflights. The five individuals joining Rocket are a group of entrepreneurs, founders and space lovers: Panama's Jaime Alemán, Canada's Jesse Williams and Gretchen Green, Paul Jeris and Aymette Medina Jorge from the United States. New Shepard's most recent mission in April, N-31, sent the first all-female flight crew to space, while Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos went up in the company's first crewed flight in July 2021. The fully automated New Shepard rocket system carries passengers to an altitude of 100km - past the boundary of space - in a capsule, which then descends to Earth using parachutes. The entire flight takes around 11 minutes to complete. Speaking to 1News about Blue Origin's announcement, Rocket said space travel is on his mind 'all the time'. 'Ever since I was a kid. I've always been fascinated by space technology and space travel. I remember at primary school I did a project about the planets.' He wasn't too bothered by the quick flight time, saying 'buckling in' and 'getting ready to experience the 3Gs or rocket-powered flight up to space will be pretty phenomenal'.