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Yes—the flight happened. On April 14, 2025, Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket carried six women from Launch Site One in West Texas on a brief suborbital trip. The capsule returned safely after about 11 minutes. The mission, NS-31, was Blue Origin’s first all-female crewed flight.
Who flew on NS-31?
The six passengers were Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez, Gayle King, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn and Kerianne Flynn. Blue Origin identified the crew in its mission announcement. Their backgrounds included entertainment, journalism, aerospace engineering, science, civil-rights advocacy and film production:
- Katy Perry, recording artist and performer.
- Lauren Sánchez, journalist, pilot and philanthropist, and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos’s partner at the time.
- Gayle King, journalist and television host.
- Aisha Bowe, former NASA aerospace engineer, entrepreneur and STEM advocate.
- Amanda Nguyễn, research scientist and civil-rights activist who advocates for sexual-assault survivors.
- Kerianne Flynn, film producer.
Bezos was not one of the six passengers. Sánchez was both a passenger and a central figure in promoting the idea of an all-women flight.
What happened during the flight?
New Shepard launched vertically, then its crew capsule separated from the booster. The capsule rose above the commonly used boundary of space, the Kármán line, giving the passengers a few minutes of weightlessness. The booster and capsule returned separately: the booster landed back at its designated area, while parachutes slowed the capsule for landing and recovery. The passengers then exited the capsule.
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The flight lasted about 10 to 11 minutes and reached roughly 66 miles (106 kilometers) above Earth, according to contemporary coverage. Small variations in reported duration and altitude can reflect different measurements; Blue Origin’s mission record confirms the completed flight and safe return.
New Shepard is designed to fly autonomously. None of the six passengers manually piloted the rocket or capsule. Blue Origin called them its astronaut crew; “passengers” or “commercial spaceflight participants” also accurately describes their role on this short commercial flight.
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Suborbital spaceflight—not an orbital mission
NS-31 crossed the boundary commonly used to define space, but it did not put the capsule into orbit around Earth. An orbital spacecraft must travel fast enough to keep circling the planet; New Shepard instead follows a short up-and-down trajectory. The passengers experienced launch acceleration, brief weightlessness and forces as the capsule returned through the atmosphere, then came back to Earth the same day.
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Why was the all-female crew historic?
Blue Origin described NS-31 as its first all-female crewed flight and the first female-only crew to fly together since 1963. That historical comparison needs context: in 1963, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova flew alone. The claim is about an all-female crew, not the first woman in space, the first women to take part in spaceflight or the first mission involving several women. The Congressional Research Service discusses the distinction in its overview of NS-31 and commercial human spaceflight.
For some observers, a high-profile group of women from different fields sharing a flight was a visible milestone. Others questioned whether celebrity-centered space tourism is meaningful progress when access to commercial flights remains limited to very few people. Both the symbolic milestone and the commercial context shaped the reaction to NS-31; neither changes the mission’s technical result.
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What NS-31 was—and was not
- It was a successful, crewed suborbital flight that returned six passengers safely.
- It was Blue Origin’s first all-female crewed flight, and its 11th New Shepard human spaceflight; NS-31 was the program’s 31st flight.
- It was not an orbital mission, a multi-day stay in space or a flight piloted by one of the passengers.
- It was not the first woman’s spaceflight or the first mission involving multiple women.
Blue Origin has not disclosed a standard public New Shepard ticket price in the cited mission materials, and the passengers’ individual payment arrangements are not established there. It would be misleading to guess who paid, who flew at no cost or whether anyone was compensated.
For the official mission record and related materials, see Blue Origin’s NS-31 page.
Quick Recap
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- SAFETY FIRST, FUN ALWAYS: Our rockets and rocket launch accessories are designed to be used with the NAR (National Association of Rocketry) model-rocket safety code. Always ensure you have an appropriate launch site, stand back at least 15 ft., insert the safety key, issue a countdown, and then you can let your rocket fly!
- WE IGNITE IMAGINATIONS: Since 1958, Estes has created educational rocket kits designed for an unforgettable launch experience. As a family-owned company, we have grown to offer exciting STEM products that engage aspiring rocketeers and the future minds of aerospace.
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