Ride of a lifetime
Moscow High graduate was on board during last month’s Blue Origin mission to space
Dylan Taylor moved to Moscow in elementary school after his father got a job at the University of Idaho. A self-described “Star Trek” fan since those early days on the Palouse, Taylor always equated going to space as a dream.
Taylor, now 51, realized the dream last month when he reached space as a part of the six-person crew of the Blue Origin New Shepard Mission which included “Good Morning America” host and former NFL player Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter of astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space.
The Dec. 11 flight lasted less than an hour, and followed several days of preparation in flight simulators.
“All together, this was the most profound experience of my life, Taylor, a Moscow High School graduate, wrote in his blog about the journey. “I had always believed Space was a tool for transformation.”
Joining Taylor, Strahan and Shepard Churchley on the flight were investor Evan Dick and the first-ever parent and child pair in space, Lane Bess and Cameron Bess.
Taylor now lives in Denver with his family and is the CEO of Voyager Space, a global space exploration firm founded in 2019.
“I always wanted to go (to space), but you know, that’s like saying, I want to play in the NFL or want to be president of the United States, right. It’s like a crazy, impossible goal,” Taylor said.
Taylor said he paid for the chance to join the mission, but wasn’t allowed to share the price of a ticket.
Before his flight, Taylor challenged other commercial astronauts to donate the price of their ticket to causes they consider worthy here on Earth. The program is called “buy one, give one” and in a blog post Taylor said he was donating to four groups: Astro Access, which aims to advance disability inclusion in space exploration; Edesia Nutrition, which works to eradicate global malnutrition and hunger; the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, which supports African Americans with access to space industry; and the Brooke Owens Fellowship, which supports women and nonbinary indvidiuals with internships in aerospace corporations.
Taylor graduated from Moscow High in 1988 and was the senior class president. After graduation, he attended the University of Arizona for his undergraduate degree.
“(Moscow) was warm and giving and set me up for future success,” Taylor said. “I have very fond memories of my time growing up in Moscow.”
Taylor said he has returned occasionally to plan the high school reunions and is grateful for the experience of growing up on the Palouse.
In addition to his role with Voyager Space, Taylor is the founder of the nonprofit Space for Humanity, which aims to democratize future space exploration.
Kali Nelson can be reached at knelson@dnews.com.
ON THE WEB
Taylor’s blog: dylantaylor.org/blog/
Voyager Space: voyagerspace.com/
Space for Humanity: spaceforhumanity.org/
