Gayle King, Katy Perry among crew of all women launching to space next week: What to know
Blue Origin claims the spaceflight is set to become the first all-woman flight since the Soviet Union's Valentina Tereshkova made a solo spaceflight in 1963.
A group of six women that includes CBS host Gayle King and pop star Katy Perry are preparing to blast off on a historic all-female commercial spaceflight in one week.
When a Blue Origin spacecraft gets off the ground, the crew of women will become the latest humans to be treated to a brief trip to the edge of space courtesy of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space technology company.
Blue Origin, which Bezos started in 2000, has been offering the cosmic joyrides to celebrities and other paying customers since its New Shepard spacecraft began crewed launches in 2021. The launch, scheduled for Monday in West Texas, will be the company's 11th human flight and 31st flight overall.
This one, though, is set to make history.
Blue Origin says the mission will be the first all-female flight since the Soviet Union's Valentina Tereshkova flew in space solo in 1963.
Here's what to know about the mission, the crew and what they'll experience on the trip.
What women are on the Blue Origin launch?
The six women are part of a commercial spaceflight mission known as NS-31.
Here's a look at who will be aboard New Shepard, composed of a rocket and passenger capsule:
- Aisha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist, CEO of engineering firm STEMBoard and founder of LINGO, which teaches students technology skills.
- Amanda Nguyen, a prominent civil rights activist and bioastronautics research scientist who worked on the last NASA space shuttle mission, STS-135, and the U.S. space agency's exoplanet-hunting Kepler space telescope.
- Gayle King, a journalist and television personality best known as a co-host of "CBS Mornings."
- Katy Perry, a pop music artist and former host of "American Idol."
- Kerianne Flynn, a film producer known for her contributions to "This Changes Everything," a 2018 documentary about sexism in Hollywood.
- Lauren Sánchez, an Emmy Award-winning journalist who is the fiancée of Bezos.
In an interview for the cover of Elle magazine published Wednesday, the New Shepard squad revealed they would all be in "glam" with hair and makeup for the journey.
When is Blue Origin launching New Shepard?
New Shepard's launch window opens at 9:30 a.m. ET, according to Blue Origin.
Like all of Blue Origin launches, the vehicle will lift off at Launch Site One, a private ranch in rural West Texas more than 140 miles east of El Paso.
Blue Origin said it plans to provide a livestream of the launch, with details to soon be released.
What happens during the Blue Origin spaceflight?
Named after astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, New Shepard can hold up to six passengers for a brief voyage above the Kármán Line – the 62-mile-high internationally recognized boundary of space.
With the vehicle's latest crewed flight Feb. 25, 10 of Blue Origin's 30 missions have now carried 52 people to the edge of space. Bezos himself joined the spacecraft's first crewed flight in 2021 as part of the NS-16 mission, which came after New Shepard flew on 15 test flights beginning in 2012.
Each spaceflight lasts about 11 minutes from liftoff to capsule touchdown, allowing up to six people to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and get a view of Earth's curvature. The spacecraft operates autonomously, meaning no pilots are aboard.
New Shepard is a launch vehicle designed to be fully reusable, with a capsule that returns to Earth via three parachutes. The rocket itself is powered by one BE-3PM engine, which propels it to suborbit before restarting to slow the booster to just 6 mph for a controlled landing back on the launch pad.
What is the cost of a Blue Origin flight?
Though Blue Origin does not publicly list prices on its website, a form to reserve a seat requires customers to agree to a $150,000 deposit alone.
Paste BN left a message Friday for Blue Origin inquiring as to how the crew of NS-31 were selected for the flight.
What to know about Blue Origin's spacecraft
The launch comes as Blue Origin is becoming a major player in the commercial space industry, competing with the likes of Elon Musk's SpaceX for NASA's business, as well as the business of other private companies.
But New Shepard doesn't just take celebrities on joy rides to the edge of space.
In early February, New Shepard successfully simulated the moon's low gravity on board its capsule during a brief flight. On board was cargo belonging to NASA, which helped fund the mission as the U.S. space agency prepares to send humans back to the moon in the years ahead under its Artemis campaign.
Blue Origin also is developing its massive New Glenn rocket, which launched in January on its maiden flight.
The 320-foot-tall heavy-lift launch vehicle, which launched without a crew on Jan. 16 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, is meant to challenge SpaceX in regularly deploying satellites and other cargo into orbit.
Named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, New Glenn rivals SpaceX's 400-foot Starship in size. Its first stage, powered by seven Blue Origin engines known as BE-4, is designed to be reusable for 25 missions.
Contributing: Anna Kaufman and Doyle Rice
Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for Paste BN. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com