Blue Origin sends Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, and all-female team to space in historic mission

In a landmark moment for space tourism and gender representation, Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin successfully launched its New Shepard NS-31 mission on Monday, April 14, carrying an all-female crew that included global pop icon Katy Perry. The suborbital flight took off from Launch Site One in West Texas and marked the company’s 11th human spaceflight.

The 11-minute journey carried six trailblazing women: Lauren Sanchez (Bezos' fiancée), singer Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King, producer Kerianne Flynn, former NASA engineer Aisha Bowe, and space advocate Amanda Nguyen. All six participants experienced moments of weightlessness as the rocket soared to 105 kilometers above Earth—reaching the edge of space before safely returning to the landing zone.

This mission is the first all-women spaceflight crew since Valentina Tereshkova's solo space trip in 1963, making it not just a symbolic gesture but a call for greater inclusion of women in space exploration. Currently, women make up only about 15% of the 700-plus people who have ever traveled into space.

Katy Perry, speaking before the mission, said she joined the flight "for my daughter Daisy," aiming to show that the sky is not the limit. “I want her to grow up believing that nothing is out of reach,” Perry told a magazine in a pre-launch interview. The singer was also charmed to discover that the capsule was nicknamed “Tortoise” and had a feather design—references that matched her parents’ nicknames for her.

Lauren Sanchez, who curated the all-women crew, stated she wanted the mission to inspire both young girls and women worldwide. She even commissioned personalized flight suits for the occasion. “This is not just a moment in commercial space travel, it’s a message to women everywhere that they belong here,” she noted.

Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission has not only pushed the boundaries of civilian spaceflight but also emphasized the need for diversity in space exploration. The flight concluded with a successful landing, greeted by Jeff Bezos himself as the crew emerged, beaming and triumphant.