Tumbarumba-raised Chris Boshuizen recounts experience in space with Blue Origin

And now that Mr Boshuizen, 44, has gotten a taste of space, he is ready for more.

It was a 5am wake-up on October 12 for the launch of Blue Origin New Shepard's 18th mission, and the passengers readied themselves for lift-off.

It had been three days of high-intensive training with a lot of media attention, partly due to the nature of the adventure and the presence of actor William Shatner.

"It felt like a football team before they run out onto the field for the first quarter," Mr Boshuizen said.

"There was a lot of energy in the room. No one was scared, but there was a buzz of nervous energy everywhere. I definitely had the jitters a little bit."

Once secured in the rocket, it was time for the launch, and in just four minutes, they had entered space.

Mr Boshuizen, from Tumbarumba in NSW's Riverina, said they maxed out at a speed of 3500 km/h in just a few minutes.

"Then we had about two to four minutes of weightlessness and then about four minutes coming down as well," he said. "The whole thing was in the range of 12 minutes altogether."

Two things stood out to Mr Boshuizen when they were finally up in space - the weightlessness and the beauty.

He said being in zero gravity was so much fun, as he floated about and did some summersaults.

"Then there was the view which I was definitely not prepared for how beautiful it was," Mr Boshuizen said.

"I have been in the space industry for my whole life. I have seen astronauts talk. I have seen photos from space and heard all about it.

"But the view was something else altogether. It was like looking at the most brilliant sapphire in the sun. There was a beauty to it that I struggled to find the words to describe it with."

IN OTHER NEWS:

After taking in the view from the galaxy, it was time to come crashing back down to earth, literally.

"We are floating around all very happy, and then suddenly we notice the arc goes over the top, and then it starts coming down a little bit and then we need to get back into our seats very quickly," Mr Boshuizen said.

"Because about a minute later, we hit the atmosphere.

"They described it like when you throw a rock in a river. The rock hits the surface then slows down, and then gently floats down to the bottom. That's kind of what happened to us."

Mr Boshuizen said it was exciting as they were squished into the seats, his skin was pulled tight, and everyone was yelling because it was both fun and scary at the same time. Then the parachutes released, and they floated back down.

"Re-entry is a wild ride," Mr Boshuizen said.

"I think the experience hasn't sunk in yet, to be honest. It felt very addictive. I got a taste for it, and I am keen to do it again."

Going to space has been a dream of Mr Boshuizen's for as long as he can remember.

He said it always seemed illogical that the human race could not go up.

At 17 years old, he went to Kapooka Army Base in the hopes of signing up to become a fighter jet pilot before transferring to NASA as an astronaut.

However, it was there Mr Boshuizen found out he was partially colourblind, dashing his plans.

"But it then opened a whole other path where I did a PhD in physics, I then got a job at NASA," he said.

"Then I helped cofound this company called Planet Labs. We take photographs of the whole beautiful surface of the earth every day which is very useful for climate change monitoring and agriculture.

"That path is what enabled me to meet the people to help fly me to the States and put me on this rocket."

A bonus to the trip was travelling with the man known to many as Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise, William Shatner.

"He's a very warm and friendly guy and so curious," Mr Boshuizen said.

"He wanted to know about us and what we like doing, and why we were there. He always had 100 questions about things we told him, and we had some great conversations. By the time we flew, it felt like we were family."

Mr Boshuizen said it was heartwarming to know he had so many supporters back in Tumbarumba and Wagga. He hoped his space mission inspired other young people to follow their dreams.

"It was a long and convoluted path to get where I was, which just goes to show you should never give up," Mr Boshuizen said.