Chris Boshuizen to Fly to Space with Blue Origin

Blue Origin Announces Crew for Second Human Spaceflight

Blue Origin’s upcoming second crewed spaceflight is set to include a seasoned professional from the space sector and a dedicated investor. Dr. Chris Boshuizen, a co-founder of Planet Labs and presently a partner at the venture capital firm DCVC, will be among those on board.

Flight Details and Crew Announcement

Boshuizen is confirmed to occupy one of the four seats available on Blue Origin’s New Shepard, a fully reusable suborbital spacecraft. This flight follows the inaugural crewed journey that featured Jeff Bezos earlier in the year.

Update: Blue Origin has also revealed that Glen de Vries, the co-founder of Medidata Solutions, a clinical trial software company, will participate in the flight. He also holds the position of vice chair for life sciences and healthcare at Dassault Systèmes, the French software company that completed the acquisition of Medidata in 2019.

Dr. Boshuizen’s Background

Dr. Boshuizen earned his PhD in physics from the University of Sydney. Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, he dedicated four years as a NASA space mission architect at the Ames Research Center in California.

He subsequently co-founded Planet Labs and served as its Chief Technology Officer for its initial five years. He initially joined DCVC as an entrepreneur in residence, transitioning to an operations partner and ultimately a full-time partner earlier this year.

Early Aspirations and Key Innovations

Despite a long and successful career within the space industry, Boshuizen’s desire to travel to space began in his youth. He applied to pilot school at the Australian Defense Force Academy at age 17, but was deemed ineligible due to partial color blindness.

Boshuizen played a significant role in the proliferation of smallsat and CubeSat technology. During his time at NASA, he was instrumental in the development of “Phonesat,” an orbital satellite constructed from a modified smartphone.

The Impact of Miniaturization

The widespread availability of micro satellite constellations today is largely attributable to Boshuizen’s work. The miniaturization of advanced technological components, driven by the smartphone revolution, enabled the creation of small, powerful, and comparatively affordable satellites.

Launch Information

The launch is currently scheduled for Tuesday, October 12, at 9:30 AM EST. It will originate from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One, located near Van Horn, Texas.

The company has yet to disclose the identities of the two remaining crew members.