Blue Origin Is Replacing Pete Davidson with Company's Rocket Architect on Next Space Flight
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Blue Origin/Twitter (L-R) Pete Davidson, Gary Lai
Pete Davidson's loss is one scientist's gain.
Four days after revealing that the Saturday Night Live star would no longer be able to fly to space as originally planned, Jeff Bezos' aerospace company Blue Origin on Monday announced his replacement. This time, instead of filling the seat with a famous face, they turned to one of their own.
"On March 29, #NewShepard Chief Architect Gary Lai will fly on the vehicle he's spent 18 years designing, developing, testing, and flying," the company wrote on social media.
"We can't wait for Gary—a friend, mentor, and hero to all of us—to become Astronaut Gary Lai," they added.
On March 29, #NewShepard Chief Architect Gary Lai will fly on the vehicle he’s spent 18 years designing, developing, testing, and flying. We can’t wait for Gary—a friend, mentor, and hero to all of us—to become Astronaut Gary Lai. Learn more: https://t.co/6HLHQOlf1I #NS20 pic.twitter.com/r8wze2u4y7
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) March 21, 2022
Lai has spent over a decade working with Blue Origin — and was even one of the company's first 20 employees.
As the Senior Director and Chief Architect of the New Shepard vehicle, he is "responsible for all next generation designs, upgrades, and new product developments," the company says.
RELATED: Pete Davidson Is 'No Longer' Going to Space as Blue Origin's 20th Mission Has 'Shifted' Its Date
It was announced last week that Blue Origin's 20th mission, which was originally scheduled to blast off on March 23, had shifted its launch date by almost a week to March 29.
As a result, the company shared that Davidson, 28, was "no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission."
Blue Origin's 20th flight of New Shepard has shifted to Tuesday, March 29. Pete Davidson is no longer able to join the NS-20 crew on this mission. We will announce the sixth crew member in the coming days.
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) March 18, 2022
The outing will mark the fourth human flight for the New Shepard program.
The rest of the flight crew includes Marty Allen, an angel investor and CEO of Party America, as well as Sharon Hagle, founder of the SpaceKids Global nonprofit, which empowers young girls through STEAM+ education, and her husband Marc Hagle, president and CEO of Tricor International.
Also making the trip is Jim Kitchen, a teacher at University of North Carolina, entrepreneur and explorer who has visited all 193 U.N. recognized countries, as will Dr. George Nield, the president of Commercial Space Technologies, LLC, who has previously worked with the FAA, U.S. Air Force Academy, and NASA.
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As part of the mission, all passengers will carry a postcard for Blue Origin's foundation Club for the Future and their Postcards to Space program, which gives students access to space on Blue Origin's rockets. The organization's mission is to inspire future generations to pursue STEM for the benefit of the Earth.
