There was plenty of celebration and bit of criticism following Kent-based Blue Origin’s New Shepard-31 flight into space with an all-female crew, including singer Katy Perry.
Blue Origin successfully completed its 11th human spaceflight for tourists for the New Shepard program on Monday, April 14 in West Texas. The flight 62 miles into space lasted 10 minutes, 21 seconds. It marked the 31st flight for the New Shepard program.
The astronaut crew included Perry, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sánchez, who brought the mission together, according to Blue Origin. Sanchez is the fiancee of Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Blue Origin, the aerospace company he started in 2000 in Kent. Bezos was on the ground in Texas to greet Sanchez and the rest of the crew when they exited the capsule.
New Shepard has flown 58 people to space, including four people who have flown twice.
“What a privilege to witness this crew of trailblazers depart the capsule today (April 14),” said Phil Joyce, New Shepard senior vice president. “Each of these women is a storyteller who will use their voices—individually and together—to channel their life-changing experience today into creating lasting impact that will inspire people across our planet for generations. Thank you to this remarkable crew for uplifting so many on their historic journey toward the stars and back.”
It was the first all-female flight crew since Russian Valentina Tereshkova’s solo spaceflight in 1963.
Blue Origin held a press conference at its Texas facility after the flight. Charissa Thompson who hosted the broadcast of the launch, also hosted the press conference and described Blue Origin has having more than 10,000 employees. Thompson, who grew up in Seattle, is a Fox NFL reporter and Amazon Prime NFL sideline reporter.
“Profound, is the one word I would use,” Sanchez said when asked by Thompson about the flight experience. “You look back at Earth and it’s this beautiful jewel. It was quiet. It felt like it was breathing. It was so alive.”
Perry sang a portion of “What a Wonderful World” during the short flight.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to sing or wasn’t,” Perry said. “It’s not about me; it’s not about singing my songs. It’s about a collective energy in there. It’s about us. It’s about making space for future women and taking up space and belonging. And it’s about this wonderful world that we see right out there and appreciating it. This is all for the benefit of Earth.”
Her crew appreciated it.
“It was the perfect song,” said King, an award-winning journalist. “It was beautiful as we were coming back down.”
Blue Origin charges people to be part of the crew and does not reveal its prices. Some crew members are sponsored by others. The company didn’t disclose who paid for the latest flight. Bezos flew on Blue Origin’s first human flight in 2021. Celebrities who have flown on Blue Origin include Michael Strahan, morning TV host and NFL Hall of Famer; and William Shatner, Star Trek actor.
The fact that only people with a lot of money can afford to take a flight into space drew critical questions from a couple of reporters at the press conference about the exclusivity of the flights.
“During the barnstorming era, the Wright brothers started flight and never envisioned 747s taking hundreds of people across the country,” Sanchez said in response to a question. “Team Blue expects that to happen. It may seem fantastical now, but I know Jeff and I know Blue Origin. We might not see it in this generation, but their kids and their kids will have that. We are building a road to space.”
Blue Origin’s ultimate goal is to have people living and working in space with the purpose to restore and sustain Earth.
The crew said messages they’ve received from girls shows it could be an inspirational flight.
“I wish those who are criticizing the mission could read the messages in my inbox,” said Bowe, a former NASA engineer.
Bowe then explained how she advanced in her career.
“When I decided that I was going to pursue aerospace engineering, it was after my high school guidance counselor told me that I should pursue cosmetology because she did not think that I would be suited for this field,” Bowe said. “I went from pre-algebra and community college to do two degrees in aerospace engineering, to working for NASA, to being able to sit on the stage and say: ‘It is bigger than the criticism.’”
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