Blue Origin will launch the first all-female space flight this spring, with celebrities such as Katy Perry, Gayle King, and Jeff Bezos’ partner Lauren Sánchez on board.
The New Shepard rocket will take its crew beyond the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space, for a short 11-minute unmanned flight. The mission marks an important step for Jeff Bezos’ company in competing with SpaceX in the commercial space sector. Sánchez, who organized the flight, said she wanted to inspire new generations. Not since Soviet Valentina Tereshkova’s mission in 1963 has an exclusively female manned flight occurred, and now the suborbital flight christened NS-31 by the company will be the 11th human flight for the New Shepard program and the 31st in its history. “Every person on board is a crew member-there are no pilots,” according to a statement from Blue Origin, which stressed that New Shepard is a fully autonomous vehicle with no specialized crew roles.
“This flight will undoubtedly prove to be a life-changing experience for each of us, and I am honored to be with such an incredible group of explorers,” Sánchez said. ‘Above all, I look forward to all the women in this crew sharing their stories and inspiring future generations to dream big,’ she added.
The crew will consist of six famous and successful women: Aisha Bowe, originally from the Bahamas, was a scientist at NASA and now works as an entrepreneur. Vietnamese Amanda Nguyen is a researcher in the field of bioastronautics and was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts on behalf of victims of sexual violence. Gayle King is an award-winning journalist and Oprah Winfrey’s great friend. Singer Katy Perry is one of the music artists with the highest sales of all time and over 115 billion streams. Kerianne Flynn, after a successful career in fashion works in film as a film producer. Lauren Sánchez, Bezos’ partner, is a helicopter pilot, journalist, bestselling author and Emmy Award winner.
