Previous NASA astronaut finalist prepares to launch on Blue Origin's New Shepard

"A Heart for Space," reads the X profile of upcoming Blue Origin astronaut Dr. Eiman Jahangir.

For the eighth time, Blue Origin will launch a crew on a suborbital (up and down) spaceflight aboard its New Shepard spacecraft from its West Texas launch base. This mission, titled NS-26, will launch no earlier than 7 a.m. EDT on Thursday from Blue Origin's Launch Site One.

Nashville resident Jahangir, who was born in Tehran, Iran, will be joined by five others on the flight. For Jahangir this is an opportunity of a lifetime. The Tennessee cardiologist has long dreamed of space, and was twice a NASA astronaut finalist. He's associate professor of Medicine and Radiology and director of Cardio-Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Jahangir did not come by this space opportunity in a traditional way. He won the seat in a contest from MoonDAO, a digital currency organization ? becoming their second ambassador astronaut.

In a July post on X (formerly Twitter) MoonDAO wrote: "Eiman's journey from Tehran to Nashville, to becoming a cardiologist, and then winning the Ticket to Space contest a few months ago is nothing short of inspiring."

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Blue Origin astronaut dreams of space

Jahangir always wanted to be an astronaut, yet knew the chances were low. Instead, he focused on becoming a cardiologist.

He told FLORIDA TODAY that while finishing medical school, a trip to Kennedy Space Center on the Space Coast stirred something inside him. "What happened to that dream?" said Jahangir. Digging into NASA's astronaut qualifications, he realized his medical background qualified him to apply. He did, and then he got the call.

"I applied on just being like, 'Okay, well, I'm gonna give it a try'. I'll never count myself out. And I didn't think I'd ever get a call back," Jahangir said. "They asked me to come down for an interview. I was on cloud nine."

That was 2009, and it put Jahangir in the same NASA astronaut candidate group as Sian Proctor, who flew to space on SpaceX's Inspiration4, all civilian crew, in 2021.

Jahangir was passed over, just as Proctor was, yet it did not deter his ambition. Four years later, NASA astronaut applications opened again.

"The next opportunity came to apply, and I applied again. And that time, you know, once again I got to the finalists level. Jessica Meir was actually a finalist with me," said Jahangir. Jessica Meir was one of the candidates chosen in 2013, and ultimately was part of the first all-female spacewalk in 2019.

But again Jahangir didn't make the cut. However, he noted the industry was quickly evolving and saw an opportunity for private astronaut training with International Institute of Astronautics Sciences (IIAS), taking their Intro to Astronautics course at Florida Tech. He also participated in analog missions, which are simulated space missions in habitats located in extreme environments on Earth.

Flying on New Shepard: a lucky win

Then came a bit of luck. Jahangir won the opportunity during a contest open to those who bought cryptocurrency from the digital company.

"When I told my parents, they're like, 'Okay, yeah, like that makes sense. You're finally achieving it'," said Jahangir. "And my wife obviously was super supportive. She was with me every step."

When asked if he was nervous about his flight, Jahangir said: "I'm not nervous at all. It's probably more excitement than anything else."

About the Blue Origin New Shepard flight

"It's a suborbital flight. So the round trip takes between 12 to 14 minutes," said Jahangir. "You're in space above the Karman Line for about four minutes."

The Karman Line is the invisible boundary recognized as where space begins. When a person flies over it, they are considered an astronaut.

The spacecraft is named in honor of Alan Shepard, the first American to fly in space. Those who fly on New Shepard ? which ranges from paying tourists to researchers ? experience a similar flight to that of Shepard's. The spacecraft is blasted into space, before coming straight back down under parachute. Among those who have flown are: Blue Origin/Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Star Trek actor William Shatner and the man who was almost the first black astronaut, Ed Dwight. Brevard's Steve Young, an Eau Gallie restauranteur, also has launched on New Shepard.

"So you go up ? you do about three G's (three times the normal force of gravity). You go about 2,200 miles per hour and reach altitude pretty quickly," explained Jahangir. "I think you go 68 miles up, and then come down and do a soft landing with three parachutes and a thruster right at the end to just kind of like buffer the landing there in West Texas."

Blue Origin is sticking with the tradition it started by naming its upcoming orbital rocket, New Glenn. That rocket will launch an uncrewed NASA mission to Mars from Florida no earlier than October 13.

"It's a hard dream, for sure. But you know, everything that is worth kind of achieving is often difficult, right? Like, easy things often aren't the ones that people dream about doing. So you got to keep persevering. You got to keep trying every avenue. Don't listen to the naysayers, because there are a lot of people that probably looked at me crazy for the last 20 years when I was like 'well, my first passion is going to space'," said Jahangir.

And onboard Jahangir's flight are fellow crewmates:

Rob Ferl, the first NASA-funded researcher for a suborbital spaceflight, and director of the Astraeus Space Institute at the University of Florida.

Ephraim Rabin, an American-Israeli businessman, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, he is the founder and CEO of Parchem Fine & Specialty Chemicals, which is a technology company transforming material supply chains.

Eugene Grin, an adventurer and businessman.

Karsen Kitchen, a senior at the University of North Carolina majoring in Communications and Astronomy.

Nicolina Elrick, philanthropist, STEM education advocate, and business tycoon of multiple technology companies.

Brooke Edwards is a Space Reporter for Florida Today. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @brookeofstars.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Cardiologist, former NASA astronaut candidate to fly with Blue Origin