Cameron Bess is First Out, Pansexual Person to Go to Space

As a cap to Pansexual Pride Week, Cameron Bess (who uses he/she/they pronouns) made history as the first out, pansexual person to go to space, reported by LGBTQ Nation. He went with his father, venture capitalist and tech executive Lane Bess, and the duo were also the first parent-child pair to travel to space together.

They were part of Blue Origin’s third flight into space, including Good Morning America co-host Michael Strahan, Voyager Space CEO Dylan Taylor, investment banker Evan Dick, and Laura Shepard Churchley, daughter or Alan Shepard, who was the first American to go into space in 1961. The crew returned safety to Earth over the weekend.

According to Space.com, the shuttle took off just before 10:01 a.m. EST on Saturday from facilities near Van Horn, Texas. The flight went 351,225 feet away from the Earth’s surface before returning safely 10 minutes following liftoff. It was initially scheduled for Wednesday but moved up due to weather.

Bess is also a furry—known for wearing fur-suits while streaming on Twitch—and pledged last week that they would bring a pansexual Pride flag and paw from their fur-suit, which she wasn’t able to fully wear during the mission.

This cat has officially been to space! Thank you @blueorigin for having me on #NS19. A dream come true! pic.twitter.com/4kqZa0Q9iU

— MeepsKitten (Cameron Bess) (@MeepsKitten) December 11, 2021

The Blue Origin Twitter account gave Bess a shoutout in a tweet:

“Cameron Bess is a content creator with a passion for creating and expressing themselves in ways that can brighten a person’s day. Cameron identifies as pansexual and is proud to represent marginalized communities and hopes their journey can inspire others.”

Bess chatted with Canadian LGBTQ publication Xtra about the mission and their experience with their father.

“He grew up launching model rockets, and when I was a kid, he would do the same with me,” Bess says. “When he was offered the opportunity to fulfill that dream with Blue Origin, he decided he wanted to bring me along. So in simple terms: I have a really great dad.”

Referencing her history-making move as the first pansexual person to visit space and their promise to rep the flag, Bess says, “I know many people have told me it means a lot to see a pansexuality Pride flag in space. I’m just happy to provide visibility.”

Photo courtesy of Blue Origin on Twitter