A Blue Origin astronaut who had previously flown with an actor in Star Trek has died

Glen de Vries, 49, died due to a plane collision. He had also been on Jeff Bezos’ spaceship a month before, which had taken William Shatner on a short journey.

According to US outlets, including CNN, a Blue Origin astronaut, Glen de Vries, was killed in a plane crash on Friday. A space corporation owned by Jeff Bezos also confirmed the news. Glen de Vries, 49, was a pilot of a tiny plane that crashed in New Jersey for unexplained reasons. Thomas P. Fischer, a 54-year-old pilot, was on board with the astronaut. He was also killed in the tragedy.

We are devastated to hear of the sudden passing of Glen de Vries. He brought so much life and energy to the entire Blue Origin team and to his fellow crewmates. His passion for aviation, his charitable work, and his dedication to his craft will long be revered and admired. pic.twitter.com/1hwnjntTVs

— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) November 12, 2021

This October, Glen de Vries also made it to space a few minutes when he soared with his three companions, including Canadian acting legend William Shatner of Star Trek films. Blue Origin organized the mission.

De Vries, an obsessed pilot who was a wealthy businessman, was known for flying various small planes several times. It is known that at the time of the accident, they were in a Cessna 172.

Glen de Vries was the founder of a U.S. company called Medidata Solutions, which develops software tools for medical examinations and clinical trials. The company is particularly successful: its partners include pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and work with academic and government institutions.