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Yes. Katy Perry flew on Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-31 mission on April 14, 2025, and returned safely with five other women after a brief suborbital flight. The capsule reached about 66 miles (107 kilometers), giving the crew a few minutes of weightlessness; it did not enter orbit. The flight was promoted as the first all-female crewed spaceflight since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo 1963 mission, and the Associated Press called it the first U.S. spaceflight with women filling every seat.
What happened on Blue Origin’s NS-31 flight?
New Shepard lifted off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas on April 14, 2025. The Federal Aviation Administration lists the flight as NS-31/HF11. The Washington Post reported liftoff at 9:30 a.m. Eastern and landing at 9:41 a.m. Eastern. The capsule returned safely.
This was a suborbital hop, not an orbital mission. The Associated Press reported that the vehicle reached about 66 miles (107 kilometers) and that the passengers experienced a few minutes of weightlessness before descending. In an orbital flight, a spacecraft travels around Earth; NS-31 instead crossed into space briefly and came back down.
Who was on board?
The six participants were Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn, and Lauren Sánchez. The FAA table identifies Perry by her legal name, Katheryn Hudson. Blue Origin said Sánchez brought the mission together.
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Blue Origin’s crew biographies describe Bowe as a former NASA rocket scientist and STEM advocate; Nguyễn as a bioastronautics research scientist and advocate; King as a journalist; Perry as a musician and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador; Flynn as a film producer; and Sánchez as a pilot, journalist, and author. These are the company’s descriptions of the participants, not a statement that all six had scientific or operational duties on the flight.
Why was the flight called historic?
Blue Origin and the Congressional Research Service (CRS) framed NS-31 as the first all-female crewed spaceflight since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova flew alone in 1963. The Associated Press described it more narrowly as the first U.S. spaceflight with women filling every seat. These descriptions use different scopes: one compares an all-women crew with Tereshkova’s solo flight, while the other specifies a U.S. mission.
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The milestone took place against a broader gender imbalance in spaceflight. In its April 14, 2025 report, the Associated Press said women represented barely 15% of the more than 700 people who had traveled into space. That is an AP figure reported on that date, not a current tally.
Were the participants astronauts, tourists, or researchers?
The word “astronaut” is contested in commercial human spaceflight. In its May 21, 2025 report, CRS explained that ordinary readers may use the word for anyone who has traveled in a spacecraft into outer space. Private companies and some media also apply it to commercial passengers. Other descriptions include “space tourist” and “private astronaut,” particularly for private travelers without scientific, operational, or safety roles.
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CRS also reported that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said NS-31’s participants “cannot identify as an astronaut. They do not meet the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] astronaut criteria.” That is a documented position in a terminology dispute, not a universally accepted definition of astronaut.
There was a research component, but Blue Origin identified it as Bowe’s work rather than a job shared by the whole crew. The company said she would conduct three experiments, including plant biology and human physiology studies, and carry postcards from students. The available descriptions do not establish that the other five participants conducted experiments.
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What did the flight cost?
The cost and payer were not disclosed in the Associated Press’s April 14, 2025 coverage: it reported that Blue Origin declined to say how much the flight cost or who paid. No ticket price should be inferred from the flight or from the participants’ presence on board.
How Blue Origin described the mission
At the time, Blue Origin called NS-31 its 11th human flight and the 31st New Shepard mission. In a February 27, 2025 announcement, the company said the program had flown 52 people above the Kármán line. That figure describes the program at the time of the announcement, not a current total.
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Blue Origin also linked the flight to Sánchez’s 2024 children’s book, The Fly Who Flew to Space, saying that the book’s fly character accompanied the mission. The reference was a personal and promotional detail, not a separate scientific objective.
What Katy Perry said after returning
In the Associated Press’s April 14, 2025 report, Perry said, “It’s not about me. It’s not about singing my songs,” and later, “We weren’t just taking up space. We were making space for the future.” The comments reflected her interpretation of the trip; the flight itself was a short suborbital passenger mission.
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