Latest news with #PaulJeris
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
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. 'Once-in-a-lifetime:' When you can see all three Goodyear Blimps together over NE Ohio 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. 77-year-old woman hit while crossing street 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. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After celebrity spaceflight, Blue Origin unveils next launch crew including Ohio man
Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin spaceflight company is preparing to send its next group of passengers on a brief trip high above Earth to witness a view few other civilians have ever seen. The impending spaceflight would be Blue Origin's first since the company made headlines in April when a group of famous women, including pop star Katy Perry, boarded the company's spacecraft for a ride to the edge of space. This time around, though, the crew is comprised not of celebrities, but of educators and entrepreneurs. Blue Origin announced Wednesday, May 21, the names of the crew members who are due to fly on the company's famous New Shepard spacecraft when it lifts off again from rural West Texas. Among the crew of passengers named to fly is Northeast Ohio businessman Paul Jeris, known as "Put-in-Bay Paul." Jeris is a world traveler and thrill-seeker who has visited roughly 150 countries, according to Fox 8. Fox reported that Jeris had been on the Blue Origin waiting list for years before finally getting the call to experience the company's version of space flight. 'They called me and they said, 'are you ready to go?'' Jeris said, according to Fox 8. 'I was so excited!' The launch, the date for which has not yet been announced, would be New Shepard's 12th human spaceflight and 32nd flight overall. Here's everything we know so far about Blue Origin's next rocket launch from Texas: Billionaire Jeff Bezos, best known for founding Amazon, is the founder of the private space technology company Blue Origin. Bezos himself even boarded Blue Origin's New Shepard for its maiden crewed voyage in July 2021, which came after the spacecraft flew on 15 flight tests beginning in 2012. For nearly four years since its first crewed mission, the New Shepard spacecraft has served as a powerful symbol of Blue Origin's commercial spaceflight ambitions amid a growing space tourism industry. In addition to sending space tourists on brief joy rides to the edge of space, Blue Origin has also increasingly sought to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX. Blue Origin's massive New Glenn rocket, which flew on its inaugural flight test in January, is also being developed for future spaceflights. At 320 feet tall, the spacecraft rivals SpaceX's 400-foot Starship in size. Even Amazon is competing with SpaceX by developing its own Kuiper internet satellite constellation in a direct challenge to Starlink. Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launches take place from the company's private ranch facility known as Launch Site One in Van Horn, Texas – more than 140 miles east of El Paso. However, the company has not yet announced the date for its next crewed launch, known as NS-32. Once the New Shepard does get off the ground again, the six people selected to board it will join 58 others who have flown on the spacecraft across 11 previous human spaceflights. Here's a look at who was announced for the mission: Aymette (Amy) Medina Jorge, a STEM teacher at Odyssey Academy in Galveston, Texas, who has led more than 60 zero-gravity space experiments. Gretchen Green, a radiologist specializing in women's imaging with more than 20 years of clinical experience. Jaime Alemán, a Panamanian attorney, businessman, and former ambassador to the United States. Jesse Williams, a Canadian entrepreneur and adventurer who serves as CEO of Car History Group, which he founded in 2012. Mark Rocket, an entrepreneur from Christchurch, New Zealand, who is CEO of Kea Aerospace, which develops solar-powered UAVs for aerial imaging and monitoring, and president of Aerospace New Zealand. Paul Jeris, a Northeast Ohio real estate developer and entrepreneur The upcoming Blue Origin launch comes on the heels of a highly publicized celebrity spaceflight on April 14 featuring musical artist Katy Perry and broadcast journalist Gayle King. Also on the flight for the mission known as NS-31 was civil rights activist and bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, filmmaker Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sánchez, an Emmy Award-winning journalist who is the fiancé of Jeff Bezos. The women made history as the first all-female crew to travel to space since 1963, when the Soviet Union's Valentina Tereshkova completed a solo spaceflight, Blue Origin has said. But the women who were part of the mission also faced widespread backlash for a launch that was widely criticized as a marketing ploy that contributed to Earth's pollution. Each spaceflight on a New Shepard vehicle lasts about 11 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown. Named after astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, the 60-foot-tall New Shepard rocket is topped with the gum drop-shaped crew capsule. During its ascent, the spacecraft reaches supersonic speeds surpassing 2,000 mph before the rocket booster separates from the crew capsule. At that point, those aboard the capsule become weightless as the spacecraft continues toward its highest point on its brief voyage above the Kármán Line – the 62-mile-high internationally recognized boundary of space. While experiencing a few minutes of microgravity, passengers have the opportunity to unstrap themselves from their seats to gaze out the capsule's large windows and take in a stunning view of Earth. Meanwhile, the rocket booster heads back to the ground while firing its engines and using its fins to slow and control its descent to land about two miles from the launchpad. The capsule itself eventually begins what Blue Origin refers to as a "stable freefall' – plummeting back to Earth as three massive parachutes deploy and the capsule makes a soft landing in the desert, sending up plumes of dust. If you have dreams of blasting off to orbit on a Blue Origin spacecraft, you likely need to either have very deep pockets or a name that's recognizable enough to get you invited as an honored guest. Though Blue Origin does not publicly list prices on its website, a form to reserve a seat requires customers to agree to a $150,000 deposit alone. And if the price of the first ticket sold for a Blue Origin spaceflight is any indicator, seats likely cost in the millions of dollars. The $28 million ticket price was the winning bid in an auction that included 7,600 people registered to bid from 159 countries. However, a select few passengers over the years have had their seats aboard New Shepard paid through grants and other funding methods from large institutions. Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blue Origin announces 1st launch since Katy Perry, Gayle King flight
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Northeast Ohio businessman preparing for trip to the final frontier
CLEVELAND (WJW) – A Northeast Ohio businessman, author and world traveler is about to rocket into outer space. Paul Jeris, known as 'Put-in-Bay Paul,' has always been an explorer at heart and enjoyed going scuba diving, skydiving and visiting 149 countries. But he's about to fulfill a lifelong dream and embark on the final frontier. 'They called me and they said, 'are you ready to go?' Jeris said. 'I was so excited!' Wayne Dawson declared cancer-free after treatment He had been on a waiting list with the private spaceflight company Blue Origin for years. He hoped they would call, but now he can't believe it's actually happening. 'Low and behold, here I am and I couldn't be more excited,' he said. It's something he has dreamed about since he was a small child watching his father go to work at the NASA Glenn Research Center. 'He was always a rocket dad,' Jeris said. 'I got to grow up watching my father work on the Mariner, the Voyager, the Viking missions and was fascinated by rockets and I still am.' He said he will be flying with five other crew members on the New Shepard rocket, which is the same reusable aircraft William 'Captain Kirk' Shatner rode on during his trip. Jeris said they will undergo three days of training in Texas, then launch over 2,300 miles straight up into outer space. They will float there for 10-12 minutes and then return to earth. He can't wait to see the planets curvature and experience something called the overview effect. 'Looking at that thin blue line and to go above that and see that life and death part of Earth. That thin blue line that surrounds earth and see how fragile our planet is and to go up there and look down,' he said. He can't give the exact dates, but said it's very soon. He also can't say how much it costs, only that he's been saving for it his whole life. 'Something that you dream about and in my life I never thought it would come true,' Paul said, choked up. Going with him on the journey are some special objects from friends and family, including a Put-in-Bay Gazette and Herkimer natural diamonds. But the most important items come from his father who recently passed away at 92. 'I'm going to bring his NASA badge and Marine Corps badge,' he said. State-of-the-art robotic mowers make maintenance easier at local golf club Making his father proud and keeping his spirit with him as he journeys among the stars. 'It's like really real,' he said with tears in his eyes, 'I think of my dad, him growing up reading this, little Parma boy does good.' Jeris also serves on several local and regional tourism boards, enjoys giving back and in 2022 traveled to Ukraine on his own to assist refugees. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
