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years before. “It was really fun because it was similar to my father’s flight into space,” she said. “He went up 15 minutes, 116 miles. We went 10 minutes and 66 miles. When he was coming down, he landed 300 miles fromwhere he took off; we landed five miles fromwhere we launched.” Laura described the capsule’s landing in the desert, assisted by three parachutes, as feeling “like plopping down on a chair,” certainly
muchmore gentle than the splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean her father had experienced. “The thing is,” she said, “Daddy was a pilot, he was flying his spacecraft. Ours was a ride.” Laura knows being a guest on Blue Origin’s New Shepard was a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity but when asked if she would go again if she could, she replied immediately, “Yes, in a second.”
Laura climbed aboard the New Shepard for her space flight on December 11, 2021. She said, “It was like just doing another practice run. I wasn’t afraid. I had total confidence because of the training we had so I could enjoy every bit of it.” Laura recalled the intense feelings of the g-force on her body, especially on her chest. “If I tried really hard, I could lift my arms,” she said. On launch, New Shepard reached 3Gs, on descent, 6Gs. A highlight of the trip was the three minutes of weightlessness the crew experienced. It was “not long enough,” according to Laura, who described unbuckling her harness and floating, totally unaware of her body, making it a truly mindful experience. She had fun doing a handstand, which simply entailed holding on to the arm of one of the seats and letting the rest of her body float up. This actually wasn’t the first time Laura had experienced weightlessness, but it was certainly the longest. In her youth, her father, an accomplished pilot, would fly the family back and forth fromTexas to Colorado and perform aerobatic maneuvers to create about 12 seconds of weightlessness inside the airplane. Out of the six large windows in the New Shepard capsule, Laura’s views were mostly of clouds and the blackness of space, but at one point she was able to see the blue atmosphere between space and Earth. She explained, “In the air, the spacecraft turns. About every 90 seconds it makes a complete circle so you’re not looking at the same thing the whole time.” While taking in every moment of her space flight, Laura’s thoughts were also on her father, thinking about what he experienced when he first went into space 60
Laura Shepard Churchley, JK, Evergreen, Colorado, is a third-generation P.E.O., initiated in 1977 into chapter AY, Houston, Texas, where her grandmother Julia Brewer and mother, Louise Shepard, were members. Laura’s cousin Alice Shepard Wackermann was initiated on the same day as her, truly making it a family affair. Before he joined the space program, Laura’s father, Alan Shepard, was in the Navy, which had the family moving every nine months. Laura recalled, “Mother always said P.E.O. was good for moving around.” Laura discovered the truth in this herself when she moved to Colorado. “I knew no one,” she said, “And right off the bat, I found a P.E.O. who invited me to join Chapter FR in Evergreen.” Chapter FR grew so large that in 1996, Laura and 20 other members started a new chapter, JK, also in Evergreen. Laura has held most offices in her chapter, presented programs and is on the social committee; she especially enjoys hosting and giving parties. Laura’s interest in art has never waned; she does needlepoint and plans to take painting lessons this summer. Laura and her husband, Fred Churchley, have been together for 25 years. Their blended family of children and grandchildren, 21 people in total, all live in Colorado, where they enjoy spending time together. Laura and Fred are avid golfers and enjoy skiing. In the summer Laura hosts a week of “Nana Camp” for her grandchildren where they do crafts and go swimming. A shining star in her family, her community and our Sisterhood, Laura has proudly followed in the footsteps of her astronaut father and P.E.O. mother! LAURA SHEPARD CHURCHLEY IN P.E.O.
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May–June 2022 | THE P.E.O. RECORD
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