UNC professor Jim Kitchen will realize a long-term dream by going into space next week. | Facebook
UNC professor Jim Kitchen will realize a long-term dream by going into space next week. | Facebook
A professor from UNC-Chapel Hill who has seen plenty of the world at ground level soon will be going to space, where he’ll be able to see the Earth from above.
“I found out about two months ago that I would be on this launch and over the last week or so, it has just been – I’m in utter and complete denial that I’m actually getting ready to go to space,” Jim Kitchen said to WFMY News 2. His launch is scheduled for Tuesday, March 29.
His flight of fancy stems from something he started a couple of years ago, when he came across a website that was soliciting entries from people.
“So, I went on the Blue Origin website a couple of years ago and they have a form that says, ‘Do you want to be an astronaut?,’ so I filled it out and put my name and email address in there,” he said.
It wasn’t a one-and-done effort. The professor said he filled out the entry form approximately 20 times over the past few years before he was contacted.
Kitchen will likely get some takeaways from the trip that he will be able to pass along to his students.
“I have talked about exploring the world and pushing boundaries, and this is a big boundary to push,” he told WFMY News 2. “So, that message has resonated for my students, so I have had literally hundreds reaching out to me excited, sharing well wishes. They are really excited, as well as my family.”
He said he’d like to build upon this trip and orbit the planet one day, according to WFMY News 2.
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