Laura Shepard Churchley: An American Astronaut’s Life, Career, and Everything You Need To Know

Following in the footsteps of her father, Laura Shepard Churchley took off on Saturday aboard a commercial space tourism rocket owned by Jeff Bezos.

Laura Shepard Churchley, who was a young girl when her father first took to the skies, was one of six passengers aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft as it lifted off from a launch site outside Van Horn, Texas.

The crew capsule at the top of the fully autonomous, six-story-tall spaceship is designed to soar to an altitude of about 350,000 feet (106 km) before falling back to Earth, descending under a canopy of parachutes to the desert floor for a gentle landing.

During the suborbital flight, the crew experienced a few minutes of weightlessness at the very apex of the flight, which lasted for about 10 minutes from liftoff to touchdown.

So Who Is Laura Shepard Churchley?

Laura Shepard Churchley is a 74 year old highly acclaimed American astronaut.

In addition to that, she is also the daughter of an American NASA astronaut who was famously known as Alan Shepard.

Her father, Alan Shepard, made history by becoming the first American in space after Yuri Gagarin, who achieved the feat for the first time in 1961.

Date Of Birth

Laura Churchley was born in Evergreen, Colorado, in 1946/47. 

Age

Laura is currently 74 years old as of the year 2021.

Career

Laura currently serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

The foundation raises money for college students to help them pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Among her fellow trustees are three astronauts: Andrew Allen, Robert Gibson and Thomas Stafford.

Personal Life

Laura Shepard Chruchley is married to Frederick William Churchley III and they both share children together.

Net Worth

According to her accomplishments and successful life, we can assume she earns a great deal of money and lives a comfortable lifestyle.