An all-women crew will take flight for Blue Origin’s 31st mission, the company announced Thursday.
Lauren Sánchez, a pilot, journalist and fiancé to the company’s founder Jeff Bezos, will head the mission. Sanchez will be joined by journalist Gayle King, singer Katy Perry, bioastronautics scientist Amanda Nguyen, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and film producer Kerianne Flynn to complete the six-person crew.
According to Blue Origin, the mission marks the 11th human flight for New Shepherd sending passengers past the Kármán line—an area 62 miles above Earth’s surface that is widely recognized as the altitude at which outer space begins. The mission marks the first all-female crew since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo flight in 1963.
No pilots will be on board for the 11-minute journey as the New Shepherd vehicle is fully autonomous. The flight is set to launch this spring though no official date has been set.
“I am looking forward to all the women in this crew sharing their story and inspiring future generations to dream big,” Sánchez said.
