'I've imagined being this person for a long time': Doctor, space enthusiast takes suborbital flight

    NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WTVF) -- Among billions of people, only about 700 can say they've visited space.

As of last week, a doctor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center can add himself to the list.

Dr. Eiman Jahangir is a cardiologist and lifelong space enthusiast.

"I mean, ever since I was little I was infatuated by space," said Dr. Eiman Jahangir.

Jahangir, 44, told me about volunteering at the Adventure Science Center when he was younger. He said a Mission to Mars exhibit sticks out in his memory.

"I was like people are going to go to Mars?! Because, at that time, NASA was working on their plans to send people to Mars," Jahangir said.

On Thursday, Aug. 29, Jahangir and five other civilians boarded Blue Orbit's New Shepard reusable space vehicle. When they blasted off into space at 2,200 mph, Jahangir fulfilled a dream.

"I've imagined being this person for a long time, and there was no guarantee I would get here," he said.

In the 90s, Jahangir — a driven student at Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School — committed to himself that he'd get to space someday. Over the past two decades, Jahangir pursued becoming a NASA astronaut, and twice he was a finalist.

Earlier this year, he finally got his ticket to space through the online space community MoonDAO, which crowdfunded his seat. He was one of 2,200 ordinary people from around the world who entered to win a seat on this trip.

I asked him what it was like looking back at Earth. He said he was struck by how dark it was around them.

"You have this beautiful bright blue-white majestic Earth that protects us all and then right there like a line, it just turns dark. It was incredible. You know, I can close my eyes and still see that very vividly," he said.

In addition to bringing Vanderbilt swag on board, Jahangir brought a device to collect data about heart and respiratory rates in space.

Jahangir hopes that through his experience he can encourage the next generation of dreamers to never give up on their goals.

"I was always told that you come up with a goal and then you persist. You work hard toward it. You break it off into small pieces and you do what you can. Sometimes those opportunities arise and what you need to do is be prepared for those opportunities," he said.

Jahangir is the first graduate of Metro Nashville Public Schools and the first Iranian man to go to space.