Blue Origin just set a milestone mission — and caused a firestorm at the same time. On Monday, April 14, the space tourist firm owned by Jeff Bezos, NS-31 mission, finished its 11th human flight and set history with its first female-only crew.
But while the brief 10-minute flight took center stage, the glamorous attention surrounding it ignited hot controversy.
Meet the All-Female Crew That Reached the Edge of Space
According to CNN, the six pioneering women on board were aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, activist Amanda Nguyen, television host Gayle King, pop icon Katy Perry, producer Kerianne Flynn, and fiancée of Bezos Lauren Sánchez.
Launched from Van Horn, Texas, their flight on the completely autonomous New Shepard rocket carried them beyond the Kármán line — the internationally accepted boundary of space at 62 miles above Earth. Following a brief period of weightlessness, they landed safely with parachutes.
Emotional Responses from the Crew
When the door on the capsule swung open, an overcome Sánchez spoke to Bezos and said, "Earth looked so — it was so quiet. It was just quiet."
King, who confessed to having a fear of flying, declared, "This was not a ride. This was a bona fide freakin' flight."
Spaceflight Milestone Recalls Earlier Missions
The NS-31 flight is the first all-female space mission since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova flew solo into orbit in 1963. Blue Origin has now taken 52 individuals to space since 2021, with Bezos himself aboard the first human flight.
There were Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner, Khloé Kardashian, and Perry's daughter Daisy in the crowd. Winfrey said on the webcast that none of them will forget this historic day.
Space 'Glam' Causes Controversy
Despite the celebration, the mission drew backlash, The New York Post reports. A joint Elle magazine interview revealed the crew planned to get "glammed up" for their trip. Perry even joked, "We're going to put the 'ass' in astronaut."
Critics questioned the mission's substance. Actress Olivia Munn criticized the cost and purpose, saying that some people can't even buy eggs.
In the meantime, NYT contributor Jessica Grose criticized the publicity stunt as "morally vacuous," decrying it as a "nail in the coffin of celebrity feminism."
