Three months ago, Mark Rocket strapped in for a ride aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard sub-orbital launch vehicle, and in the process became the first Kiwi to enter space. 

The experience was a culmination of years of anticipation and some unexpected twists for the tech entrepreneur who was a pivotal, early investor in Rocket Lab and went on to form his own venture Kea Aerospace.

Joining five other passengers on the New Shepard rocket in July, Rocket enjoyed several minutes of weightlessness on the suborbital trip that saw him pass the Kármán line, the 100-kilometre threshold that marks the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space.

Floating in the capsule, peering down at Earth through the big windows, Rocket says he relates to the emotions felt by astronauts looking back at Earth from space, known as the “overview effect”.

“It was incredible to see the atmosphere and the blackness of space. It’s quite a powerful feeling seeing the context of the Earth and the Sun. It was quite an emotional experience,” he said.

“You do get that real emotional impact when you see how thin the atmosphere is. We can only live in the bottom five kilometres of the atmosphere. By the time you're up to 100 kilometres, there is not much atmosphere left. It's like the skin of an apple,” he added.

Listen to the full conversation on episode 117 of The Business of Tech powered by 2degrees Business, streaming on iHeartRadio and wherever you get your podcasts.

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