GREENSBORO, N.C. — A UNC professor is getting the chance of a lifetime by boarding the Blue Origin and heading to space next week.
WFMY spoke to this lucky professor about his trip.
Come next Tuesday, UNC Professor Jim Kitchen will be boarding the Blue Origin rocket and shooting for the stars… literally.
"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," Kitchen said.
Kitchen is a world explorer on the ground, having been to 193 countries he had the dream of seeing the world from space.
Kitchen said he filled out a form on the Blue Origin website nearly 20 times before he was contacted. "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 explained.
Being able to go to the edge of space will be emotional for him.
"Looking over and seeing this big beautiful earth of ours from the advantage of this large window. Seeing a big borderless planet which is an important thing, a message right now, given all that is happening in the world," Kitchen said.
Kitchen says after teaching for 13 years, his students have shown nothing less than excitement and support for him on this journey.
"I have heard from so many of my students and they are just excited that their professor, I have talked about exploring the world and pushing boundaries and this is a big boundary to push. 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.
Kitchen shoots for the stars next Tuesday and says this is a big step for him in his journey in life.
"I’m humbled by it but I also, good lord willing one day go and orbit the earth as well. That would be a dream."