Blue Origin announced the New Shepard’s 18th mission today, It is reported that NS-18, will lift off on Tuesday, October 12, carrying four astronauts to space and back, here we take a look at Glen de Vries, Vice-Chair, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Dassault Systèmes and co-founder, Medidata and Chris Boshuizen, a former NASA engineer and co-founder of Planet Labs.
Liftoff is currently scheduled for 8:30 am CDT/ 13:30 UTC from Launch Site One in West Texas and if you would like to witness this event virtually live coverage of the launch will begin on the day at BlueOrigin.com after T-60 minutes.
This flight follows the immediate success of Blue Origin’s first human flight on July 20 which included aviation pioneer Wally Funk, Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark Bezos and Blue Origin’s first customer, Oliver Daemen. On board the NS-18 will also be thousands of postcards from Blue Origin’s foundation.
Meet Dr. Chris Boshuizen
From 2008 to 2012, Chris served as a Space Mission Architect at NASA’s Ames Research Center where he co-invented the NASA Phonesat, a free-flying orbital satellite built out of an ordinary smartphone. While under employment at NASA, Chris also established Singularity University, a school for studying the consequences of accelerating technological development. While pursuing his BSc and then following with his PhD in Physics from the University of Sydney, he organized several
international space conferences for the youth of the world. He also served as the first Executive Director of the Space Generation Advisory Council.
“This is a fulfillment of my greatest childhood dream,” says Dr. Chris Boshuizen. “More importantly, though, I see this flight as an opportunity to inspire students to pursue careers in STEM and catalyze the next generation of space explorers. After all, our future of life in space is in their very capable hands.”
Chris’s career has been built upon pushing the boundaries of space while igniting youth excitement in pursuing careers within STEM. He co-founded Planet Labs (Planet) in 2010 and served as the CTO for five years. Under his technical leadership Planet became the first company to commercially utilize nano satellites, and now—having launched over 450 satellites—provides daily, global mapping of our changing planet from space.
Meet Glen de Vries
Glen de Vries co-founded Medidata Solutions in 1999, the world’s most used clinical research platform. The company’s software has powered over 25,000 clinical trials with more than seven million patients in every therapeutic area, from vaccines to cancers and rare diseases.
“I’ve spent my entire career working to extend people’s lives. However, with limited materials and energy on Earth, extending our reach into space can help humanity continue to thrive,” said Glen de Vries. “Furthermore, astronauts can experience the ‘overview effect,’ gaining a new perspective on how fragile and precious our planet, those resources, and our civilization are. Playing a part in advancing the space industry and one day making those resources and that understanding available to everyone, is an incredible opportunity.
I’ve been passionate about aviation and space for as long as I can remember, so this flight is truly a dream come true.” He is the Vice Chair of Life Sciences and Healthcare at Dassault Systèmes, which acquired Medidata in 2019. Glen serves as a Trustee of Carnegie Mellon University, is the author of “The Patient Equation,” and is an instrument rated private pilot.