Seeking ‘zen’ moment: Miami Beach man ready for space journey aboard Bezos’ rocket
Miami Beach resident and tech entrepreneur Lane Bess has held a lifelong fascination with rockets.
On Thursday, he will find himself strapped inside one, launching into space with five other passengers. Bess and his son, Cameron, will blast off from west Texas into low-earth orbit aboard a Blue Origin reusable spaceship. It’ll be the third manned voyage for the Jeff Bezos-backed company, which has a mission of bringing space travel to the masses.
In an interview, Bess, 60, said he anticipates having a “Zen” moment that will put life, especially its challenges, into proper focus.
“We deal with Covid, political unrest and even the challenges of a business career,” he said. “But when you look at the bigger perspective, you hopefully get this appreciation: How much do these things matter in the longer scheme of our planet and life and where we come from. ... I will have the picture of the view that I’ll have looking out the window in my mind for the rest of my life.”
Bess got his education in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic before finding himself in Parkland in the 1990s, when his son Cameron was born. Soon they will become the first parent and child to travel together to space. (Cameron, a Redmond, Washington resident, was not available for an interview.)
Bess moved the family to the Silicon Valley area of California at the turn of this century to pursue his business passions — but ended up back in South Florida to live out his dream of owning a yacht. Today, he works as an investor and adviser in the cybersecurity industry, as principal and founder of Bess Ventures and Advisory. He has 30 years of experience launching and leading internet security and software companies. Earlier in his career, he worked in sales and marketing management positions at NCR Corp. and AT&T.
Thursday’s Blue Origin journey will last 11 minutes. Neither Bess nor Blue Origin would reveal the passengers’ cost for the trip. Bess said he’d initially attempted to secure a spaceship seat at an auction for the inaugural flight this summer, but the cost proved prohibitive.
Alongside his son, Bess will be traveling with Good Morning America co-host and National Football League Hall of Famer Michael Strahan, Laura Shepard Churchley, a nonprofit executive and the daughter of space pioneer Alan Shepard, plus two other business executives. Billionaire Bezos, the Amazon founder who was aboard the inaugural July 20 flight that reached an altitude of more than 62 miles above the Earth, will not be a passenger on Thursday’s voyage.
Bess said he did not have to go through rigorous physical training, instead merely had to sign a waiver. He lost about 20 pounds though to get in better shape for the voyage. Strahan, the former defensive end for the New York Giants, will be the heaviest on the flight, Bess joked.
Most of the preflight preparation involved classroom exercises on what to prepare for during the trip and how the vessel, called New Shepard, works. It ended up being about 14 hours of training. That’s minimal compared with the two years of training NASA astronauts must go through for their space missions.
Blue Origin is targeting many more spaceflights in 2022 for civilians.
“It’s still very early days for New Shepard,” a Blue Origin spokesperson said in a statement. “Over time, the cost of flights will come down. It all starts with reusability, similar to the commercial aviation industry.”
Bess hopes the voyage will be a bonding experience with his son and a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
“We’re all probably here just for instant, and especially in the total lifespan of the planet,” he said. “You’ve just got to enjoy and experience as much as you can, and not let things on a daily basis bother you as much. For me, I’ll feel a sense of peace of mind and tranquility. It’s going to be an emotional thing.”
