Earlier today, 14 April 2025, Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket successfully launched its 31st mission (NS-31) from Launch Site One in West Texas, making history with the first all-female crewed commercial spaceflight since 1963.
The short but symbolic mission carried six accomplished women just past the Kármán line — the recognised boundary of space — offering them a few minutes of weightlessness before a smooth parachute-assisted return to Earth.
Mission overview
- Launch time: 3:30pm BST (9:30am CDT)
- Flight duration: Approximately 11 minutes
- Altitude reached: Over 62 miles (100 km)
- Experience: Around 4 minutes of weightlessness
This was Blue Origin’s 11th human spaceflight and the 31st overall flight of its New Shepard programme.
Meet the all-female crew
- Lauren Sánchez – Journalist, pilot and fiancée of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos. She handpicked the crew based on their storytelling ability, impact and unique perspectives.
- Katy Perry – Global pop icon fulfilling a lifelong dream of space travel.
- Gayle King – Veteran CBS journalist and co-host of CBS Mornings.
- Amanda Nguyen – Civil rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and trained astrophysicist. She conducted research on menstruation in microgravity during the flight.
- Aisha Bowe – Former NASA engineer, entrepreneur and the first Black woman to fly with Blue Origin.
- Kerianne Flynn – Film producer known for This Changes Everything and Lilly.
Why this is a big moment for women
This mission is more than a tick on the commercial spaceflight checklist. It’s a milestone in visibility, inclusion and inspiration. Each woman on board brought her own legacy, from science to storytelling, art to activism. Their diverse backgrounds highlight that space isn’t just for astronauts and engineers, it’s for dreamers, thinkers and change-makers.
Amanda Nguyen’s onboard research into menstruation in space is especially significant. Women’s health issues have long been overlooked in space science, so her experiment signals a broader move toward equality in scientific research and mission design.
Katy Perry’s presence, sends a powerful message to younger audiences, space is for everyone. Her post-flight remarks called on girls to pursue their passions without fear of boundaries, saying that “The sky is not the limit anymore.”
Flight suits with flair
Before launch, the crew revealed their custom-designed blue flight suits, created in partnership with fashion designers Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim of Monse. These suits were made not only for safety and practicality but also as a statement, combining fashion and function in a way that mirrored the mission’s theme… empowerment.
What this means going forward
The success of this all-female flight is a major nod to inclusivity in a field that has historically been male-dominated. It also challenges the notion of who “belongs” in space. This is not just a win for the women who went up, it’s a signal to the world that representation, research and reaching for the stars go hand-in-hand.
