Michael Strahan will be the next prominent celebrity to visit the far reaches of space. The Good Morning America co-host revealed during Tuesday's show that he will be a part of the crew for the next Blue Origin tourism trip on December 9. He will be joined by five other members including Laura Shepherd Churchley, the daughter of Alan Shepherd, the first American astronaut.
To coincide with his announcement, GMA aired a special segment dedicated to Strahan's two-week preparation for the flight. It's a bit ironic that Strahan was chosen as the next special Blue Origin guest as he covered the first human flight including owner Jeff Bezos. Now, his colleagues at GMA will be covering his journey alongside the rest of the flight crew up through the launch date, though they will not have special access to the flight despite having a co-anchor aboard. As part of his participation, Strahan will also earn some money to donate to The Boys & Girls Club.
During the show, Strahan mentioned wanting to see space for himself after covering the recent slew of civilian flights. "I believe that this is the way of being innovative, creative, pioneers in aviation, now space travel,” Strahan said during the segment. “And it’s going to take a while but I do believe that it will bring a lot of technological breakthroughs and also innovations to us here on Earth, and I just want to be a part of it."
Reaching space is yet another major accomplishment in Strahan's illustrious career. He started his NFL career with the New York Giants in 1993 and spent all fifteen years of his Hall of Fame run as a defensive end for the team, capturing a Super Bowl in his final season. Following his retirement, he became a well-known TV personality, joining Fox NFL Sunday and eventually making the switch to daytime TV with GMA and Live! With Kelly and Michael. He'd pick up two Daytime Emmy Awards as a co-host to Kelly Ripa on Live!
Strahan's flight will be Blue Origin's third flight of the year, following a boom in civilian space travel spurred by Bezos' company and Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic. William Shatner was Blue Origin's previous celebrity guest, sending the Star Trek star to the final frontier last month. Check out the video announcing Strahan's flight below: