(L-R) Pete Davidson, Gary Lai.Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Blue Origin/Twitter
Pete Davidson’s loss is one scientist’s gain.
Four days after revealing that theSaturday Night Livestar wouldno longer be able to fly to spaceas originally planned,Jeff Bezos' aerospace company Blue Origin on Monday announced his replacement. This time, instead of filling the seat with a famous face, they turned to one of their own.
“On March 29, #NewShepard Chief Architect Gary Lai will fly on the vehicle he’s spent 18 years designing, developing, testing, and flying,” the companywroteon social media.
“We can’t wait for Gary—a friend, mentor, and hero to all of us—to become Astronaut Gary Lai,” they added.
Lai has spent over a decade working with Blue Origin — and was evenone of the company’s first 20 employees.
As the Senior Director and Chief Architect of the New Shepard vehicle, he is “responsible for all next generation designs, upgrades, and new product developments,” the company says.
As a result, the company shared that Davidson, 28, was “no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission.”
The outing will mark the fourth human flight for the New Shepard program.
The rest of the flight crew includes Marty Allen, an angel investor and CEO of Party America, as well as Sharon Hagle, founder of the SpaceKids Global nonprofit, which empowers young girls through STEAM+ education, and her husband Marc Hagle, president and CEO of Tricor International.Also making the trip is Jim Kitchen, a teacher at University of North Carolina, entrepreneur and explorer who has visited all 193 U.N. recognized countries, as will Dr. George Nield, the president of Commercial Space Technologies, LLC, who has previously worked with the FAA, U.S. Air Force Academy, and NASA.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
As part of the mission, all passengers will carry a postcard for Blue Origin’s foundationClub for the Futureand theirPostcards to Spaceprogram, which gives students access to space on Blue Origin’s rockets. The organization’s mission is to inspire future generations to pursue STEM for the benefit of the Earth.
source: people.com
