Three people with ties to Florida have now been to suborbital space.
Boca Raton High School graduate Jim Kitchen, along with Orlando residents Marc and Sharon Hagle were among the six people on Blue Origin's New Shephard capsule when it lifted off from a West Texas field Thursday morning.
Jeff Bezos' space flight company's fourth crewed mission is back on Earth after a 10 minute trip to space.
Kitchen is a business professor at the University of North Carolina, but grew up in Boca Raton, dreaming of becoming an astronaut. He has previously entered space competitions, underwent training and experienced zero gravity on modified planes.
After the suborbital flight, he said "what a view!" and described it as "the blackest black I have ever seen." He called it "breathtaking."
Kitchen held up a flag featuring the number "194." He explained that he has traveled to 193 different countries and that space was his 194th border to cross.
Also on board was Winter Park couple Marc and Sharon Hagle, who became the first married couple to fly on a commercial spaceflight.
Marc runs a property development firm in Orlando and Sharon is the founder of SpaceKids Global, a nonprofit that encourages young students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, also known as STEAM programs.
Saturday Night Live cast member Pete Davidson was initially slated to be on the flight, but backed out after it was delayed from last week.