Pop star Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez (fiancée of Jeff Bezos), and news anchor Gayle King will be part of a six-person crew for Blue Origin’s upcoming flight, marking the first all-woman crew to travel to space in decades. This mission represents the first all-woman flight into space in 60 years, as announced by Blue Origin.
Key Facts:
– On Thursday, Blue Origin revealed a six-person crew for its New Shepard program’s latest flight, which includes Perry, Sanchez, King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, research scientist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
– The crew is set to launch this spring for an 11-minute flight that will ascend just above the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space situated approximately 62 miles above Earth.
– Blue Origin stated that “every person on board is a crew member” and emphasized that there are “no pilots” since the New Shepard spacecraft operates autonomously.
Historical Context:
The last all-woman crew to travel to space was on June 16, 1963, when the Soviet Union launched Valentina Tereshkova solo for a three-day mission.
Related Developments:
Blue Origin has sent numerous celebrities and paying customers to space across ten manned flights since 2021, including Jeff Bezos himself, who was on the first mission in July 2021. Actor William Shatner made headlines by becoming the oldest person to travel to space at 90 years old during a flight in October 2021.
Ticket Pricing:
Most passengers on the New Shepard rocket must purchase their seats, while notable individuals like Shatner fly for free. Prospective passengers are required to fill out a form and pay a refundable deposit of $150,000, although ticket prices remain unclear. Early indications suggested a seat would cost at least $200,000, with the first ticket reportedly auctioned for $28 million in 2021.
Background Information:
Bezos’ Blue Origin has successfully sent over two dozen people to space, competing against Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic to broaden access to space tourism. The New Shepard rocket faced scrutiny from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) following a failed launch in September 2022. However, the FAA concluded its investigation in 2023, requiring Blue Origin to implement corrective measures, including redesigning engine and nozzle components. The New Shepard has completed 19 unmanned missions in addition to missions for scientific research and to send postcards from the nonprofit Club for the Future.
