Blue Origin Astronaut Dies In a Tragic Plane Crash a Month After His Space Trip

Private pilot Glen de Vries, a part of the most recent Blue Origin astronaut team, tragically dies in a plane crash less than a month after his trip to the edge of space. The crash happened on 11th November, taking the lives of two people onboard the Cessna 172 aircraft. The details of the accidents have not been disclosed, but Blue Origin executives and former flight members have already voiced their frustration about the tragic misfortune.

Jeff Bezos and Chris Boshuizen about the tragic death

Glen de Vries was part of the Blue Origin astronaut team that flew to the edge of space on 13th October. Other crew members included Star Trek actor William Shatner, Blue Origin VP Audrey Powers, and Planet co-founder Chris Boshuizen. Boshuizen shared his sadness about the death of a fellow space explorer, adding that he takes small consolation in knowing that de Vries lived his life to the fullest and fulfilled his life-long dream of going to space shortly before his death.

Blue Origin founder, Jeff Bezos, joined in to express his devastation about hearing the tragic news. Bezos adds that de Vries brought so much life and energy to all of his astronaut teammates. Bezos calls the late Blue Origin astronaut a true leader, a visionary, and an innovator.

Blue Origin astronaut on his space flight experience

Shortly after the trip on board the Blue Origin New Shepard rocket, Glen de Vries gave an interview to Carnegie Mellon University, where he served on a trustee board. De Vries described his experience as mind-changing, adding that he took the newly acquired perspective back to Earth. De Vries added that he was going to make commercial space flight democratisation a new life mission and shared that he would be happy to travel to space again. According to the late Blue Origin astronaut, seeing the Earth from above makes it feel more precious.