Tuesday, 3 June 2025

Christchurch entrepreneur becomes the first New Zealander in space

    Christchurch entrepreneur Mark Rocket has become the first New Zealander to make it into space.

    Rocket made history on board the 12th crewed flight for Blue Origin’s New Shepard programme in West Texas. 

    Rocket told The Press the flight exceeded his expectations.

    "It was incredibly intense," he told The Press.

    "Just a really amazing space flight."

    With a New Zealand flag in hand, Rocket and five others levelled off 105km above the Earth, where they experienced zero gravity for 11 minutes.

    Blue Origin’s New Shepard programme is run by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space tourism company.  

    Mark Rocket out of his seat during the sub-orbital flight on Blue Origin's NS-32 mission. Photo:...
    Mark Rocket out of his seat during the sub-orbital flight on Blue Origin's NS-32 mission. Photo: Blue Origin
    Rocket told The Press he experienced "fairly steady acceleration" after lift-off. But once they reached "3400km/h, the acceleration is just absolutely incredible".

    When the main engine cut off and the booster separated from the rocket, the crew experienced zero gravity.

    He said a highlight was doing flips in mid-air in the true darkness of space. 

    "It was just a totally immersive, full-on, thrilling experience," Rocket told The Press.

    "So I did another backflip and jumped into the seat and within a minute you’re doing quite a few Gs and it goes up to about 5Gs."

    -APL