Blue Origin, the space exploration company owned by Jeff Bezos, is gearing up for a special flight on April 14, 2025. This flight, NS-31, will be the first time an all-female crew has flown to suborbital space since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo flight in 1963. Singer Katy Perry and experienced news journalist Gayle King are part of this event. They will go on a trip to the reusable New Shepard spaceship.
According to USA Today, this flight to take off from Launch Site One in West Texas has an unusual goal. It’s not just about the destination or the thrill of space travel. This mission is special because it’s focused on showing that women are just as capable as anyone else to lead the way in exploring the cosmos.
#NewShepard is GO for launch from Launch Site One tomorrow. #NS28
Learn more: https://t.co/6yBO6DASk5 pic.twitter.com/k7tUKtGoYK
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) November 21, 2024
But this event opens the door to more than just space. It brings up important issues that we need to think about. These are about guaranteeing all types of people in STEM and the histories we form around what women can and cannot do in STEM. It’s not just about shattering the glass ceiling but building a world where gender doesn’t determine your standing.
The six-person team has come from a medley of backgrounds. Katy Perry, known for her grand concerts and pop icon status, would like to inspire her daughter to go high, not only metaphorically but also literally, in the sense of potentially becoming an astronaut, as she said in an interview with Elle.
Alongside Katy Perry, you’ll also find the following people on the all-female Blue Origin crew:
- Gayle King – Veteran journalist and CBS Morning Show co-host
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Aisha Bowe – Former NASA rocket scientist, STEMBoard CEO
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Amanda Nguyen – Civil rights activist, bioastronautics researcher
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Kerianne Flynn – Film producer of This Changes Everything
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Lauren Sánchez – Emmy-winning journalist and Jeff Bezos’ fiancée
Blue Origin’s New Shepard is a high-altitude, automated car for going to space. It takes with it six lucky passengers, whom it drives up to the edge of space, which is around 62 miles high.
This spacecraft does all the work by itself! Once up there, the BE-3PM engine gives everyone a little break, and then it’s time to float around like astronauts for a few minutes without feeling the tug of gravity.
Now, this isn’t a leisurely space cruise that lasts hours. It’s a quick hop, more like a rollercoaster ride, but instead of loops and corkscrews, you’ve got 11 minutes of excitement! Blue Origin, too, has already sent 52 people on this journey, but this is the 11th mission, so they’re going to show a live video on their website.
According to Phys.org, the upcoming all-female spaceflight might inadvertently reinforce the “exceptional woman” stereotype.
The personal accounts of previous astronauts like Catherine Coleman and Mae Jemison show that women in space have commonly faced systemic biases and have often chosen to overcome these challenges by quietly exceeding male standards.
Happy 66th birthday to Doctor and Engineer Mae Jemison! She was the first black woman in space.
She flew aboard the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992, working on experiments including bone cell research.
Dr. Mae Carol Jemison is a physician and retired astronaut. After her… pic.twitter.com/6Y4nJtSOO0
— AFRICAN & BLACK HISTORY (@AfricanArchives) September 12, 2023
While Amanda Nguyen and Aisha Bowe bring a richer dimension to the crew with their backgrounds, the inclusion of celebrities such as Perry and Sánchez can make the event seem more like a carefully crafted image.
The NS-31 launch isn’t likely to instantly change how we see gender roles, but it will surely spark a cultural dialogue. The flight is inspiring, aiming high, and visually stunning. Yet, it’s also a costly affair, with tickets reportedly starting at $150,000.
Even so, for the young girls who will watch Perry experience zero gravity or listen to King’s reflections from the stratosphere, the impact is clear. As Mae Jemison once said, “I always knew I’d be here.” This mission challenges others to envision themselves in similar roles.
