SULLIVAN – Space, the final frontier, is calling to a former Liberty area resident, Howard Blank, and it’s been a long time coming; waiting for a little over 16 years to take his seat in a soar above the clouds. 

Over a decade-and-a-half ago, Blank purchased his tickets to fly to space as a pilgrim passenger, known as “The Founder Astronauts” on Virgin Galactic’s commercial space flight shuttle, the VSS Unity. According to Virgin Galactic’s Jeff Michael, the ship is expected to breach the mesosphere of Earth’s atmosphere, which is roughly 50 to 52 miles above sea level (about 80/85 km.) After it has reached its peak, the aircraft will rotate its wing tail “feathers” and glides as it descends back down to Earth. 

The shuttle itself is being launched from under the mothership, Eve, at around 50,000 feet, the rocket driving the shuttle itself is expected to reach speeds as high as Mach 2.5 (just over 1,900 miles per hour) and the astronauts will be exposed to G forces of around 3.5 (3½ times the force of gravity.)

Virgin Galactic is a space tourism company with a history of producing competitive engineering with the purpose of allowing the everyday person to see the planet in its full context, as well as to promote a healthier understanding of our world and its many ecosystems from the literal highest point possible.

As a child and young adult, Blank grew up in the Liberty area. Blank’s father and his siblings were originally from the lower east side of Manhattan, but moved to Swan Lake while they were still children. 

Blank spoke of fond memories of the Borscht Belt’s great hotel era, and many of the other joys that are rooted in the area. As he got older, Blank eventually moved away from the county to live in Europe in 1970. He currently resides in the country of Monaco, but regularly returns to the States to see friends and family. Blank will make the trip to the Spaceport America in New Mexico for his flight sometime within the next 12 to 16 months.

Blank, who noted himself as a bit of a “speed freak,” has had a long history of chasing the rush. Before he retired as a petrochemical commodity trader at the age of 65, he was a two-time competitor in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in both 2013 and 2014.

Despite a life of extravagant adventure, Blank said his heart resides as a forever resident of the area, saying that he is still “just a kid from Sullivan County.”

“Growing up in Liberty, it was great,” Blank said.

Due to the passengers and flight dates being chosen out of a lottery system, it is unknown of the exact date of Blank’s own flight, as well as the two other passengers and two pilots who will be joining him on the ninety-minute long trip through the outer reaches of our sky. The first of the series of space flights is expected to begin on August 10. Watchers can tune in to see on Virgin Galactic’s website, www.virgingalactic.com.