University of Florida scientist Rob Ferl took a giant leap for research Thursday when he became the first NASA-funded university researcher to conduct his own experiments in space during a flawless sub-orbital mission on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket.
New Shepard lifted off from Blue Origin's Launch Site One in West Texas at 8:07 a.m. Central Daylight Time and climbed to an altitude of 345,958 feet, well above the Karman Line, the internationally recognized boundary of space. Ferl and his five fellow crew members experienced several minutes of weightlessness before their capsule returned to Earth, touching down softly in a plume of dust under three orange and blue parachutes.
Ferl raised his arms in celebration as he exited the capsule, donned a bright orange UF cap and went to greet his waiting family.
"It couldn't have been a better experience," Ferl said a few minutes later. "There is room for scientists of all sizes, shapes and ages to do this. There is a lot of opportunity in a ride like that."
