Canadian Henry Wolfond brings a unique perspective to a journey into space

The entrepreneur and an activist against antisemitism hopes to get people thinking about hatred back on Earth, and how to stop it

Henry Wolfond was less than two years old in 1961 when Alan Shepard became the first American in space, during a 15-minute sub-orbital flight in a Mercury capsule atop a Redstone rocket.

On Friday morning at 10:30 ET, some 63 and a half years later, he’ll follow in Shepard’s trajectory as one of six passengers aboard the ninth crewed flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket when it blasts off from a spaceport in West Texas. He’ll also become one of the few Canadians to have made it to space — so far, just 12 and counting.