On April 14, an all-female crew launched into space as part of Blue Origin's NS-31 mission.
Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez assembled the team, welcoming Katy Perry, Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn aboard.
What Inspires the NS-31 Crew to Discover the Space?
In a recent ELLE cover story, women shared their wish to motivate future generations. For Katy Perry, this means encouraging her daughter Daisy, whom she has with fiancé Orlando Bloom, to "dream without limits and understand that anyone can achieve their goals, regardless of their background, ethnicity, financial status, or education."
King, who has openly shared her feelings of anxiety, expressed to the magazine her desire to inspire others to venture beyond their comfort zones.
"Once I do it," she added, "then the doors will open for so many other people who thought, 'Okay, I was one of those reluctant people, but now I’m here and I am excited to go.'"
Does the NS-31 mission crew participate in any training programs?
As reported by Good Morning America, all crew members are scheduled to arrive at the launch site several days before the mission for training sessions. These sessions will involve fitting into their flight suits, familiarizing themselves with the capsule, learning communication procedures with ground control, and reviewing safety protocols.
However, some crew members have already begun their preparations before the mission.
"I’ve been training for this in some way or another for the last year, but recently, I turned up the intensity," Bowe told ELLE weeks before the launch. "I just completed a NASTAR simulation, where I had the opportunity to experience what I can expect to encounter on the flight. For me, the physical preparation is really important."
Blue Origin’s Mission
At 8:30 am local time, six women launched aboard the New Shepard rocket from Blue Origin's facility in Texas. The suborbital mission, named NS-31, will last around 11 minutes, taking them just past the Kármán line — the 100-kilometer boundary that marks the edge of space — before safely returning to Earth. This mission is part of Blue Origin’s broader space tourism program, designed to inspire future generations, and it represents the first all-female spaceflight since Valentina Tereshkova's solo mission in 1963.