Carnegie Mellon University: Alumnus Glen de Vries Achieves Liftoff

Carnegie Mellon University alumnus and Trustee Glen de Vries, the cofounder of Medidata, boldly went where few have gone before aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-18 flight to space today. With fellow passengers Chris Boshuizen, Audrey Powers and William Shatner — Captain Kirk himself — de Vries achieved a lifelong goal of traveling to space.

“Playing a part in advancing the space industry and one day making those resources and that understanding available to everyone is an incredible opportunity,” de Vries said before his flight. “I’ve been passionate about aviation and space for as long as I can remember, so this flight is truly a dream come true.”

The flight reached a peak altitude of 65.8 miles and its passengers floated in zero-gravity before landing safely in West Texas. In all, the mission lasted 10 minutes and 17 seconds. They were greeted by Blue Origin’s Jeff Bezos as well as their friends and family upon their safe return to Earth.

Watch the full webcast of the historic flight below, and check back next week to learn more about de Vries’ out-of-this-world experience.