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Blue Origin NS-31

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Blue Origin NS-31
Mission typeSub-orbital human spaceflight
Mission duration10 minutes, 21 seconds
Apogee107 km (66 mi)[1]
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftRSS Kármán Line
ManufacturerBlue Origin
Crew
Crew size6
Members
Start of mission
Launch dateApril 14, 2025 (2025-04-14), 13:30:00 UTC (8:30 am CDT)
RocketNew Shepard (NS5)
Launch siteCorn Ranch, LS-1
ContractorBlue Origin
End of mission
Landing dateApril 14, 2025 (2025-04-14), 13:40:21 UTC (8:40:21 am CDT)
Landing siteCorn Ranch

Mission patch

Blue Origin NS-31 was a sub-orbital spaceflight operated by Blue Origin as part of New Shepard, the company's space tourism program. The flight took place on April 14, 2025, and lasted 10 minutes and 21 seconds. The flight carried all-female passengers and was organized by journalist Lauren Sánchez, fiancée of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos. She was joined by Aisha Bowe, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King, Amanda Nguyen and Katy Perry.

NS-31 received widespread media attention for its symbolic significance of being the first all-female spaceflight since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in 1963, making a solo flight on Vostok 6. Overall, the reception to the flight was predominantly negative, with criticism of its messaging and timing.

Passengers

[edit]
Position Passenger
Tourist United States / The Bahamas Aisha Bowe
First spaceflight
Tourist United States Amanda Nguyen
First spaceflight
Tourist United States Gayle King
First spaceflight
Tourist United States Katy Perry
First spaceflight
Tourist United States Kerianne Flynn
First spaceflight
Tourist United States Lauren Sánchez
First spaceflight

Mission

[edit]

The six-person mission was the eleventh launch of the Blue Origin New Shepard space tourism program, which uses remotely piloted launch rockets to take a capsule with passengers into sub-orbital space.[2] The passengers included NASA aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, pop singer Katy Perry, film producer Kerianne Flynn, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, journalist Gayle King, and pilot and journalist Lauren Sánchez.[3] Nguyen had previously trained to be an astronaut, but shifted towards activism after being sexually assaulted.[2] Their participation was announced on February 27, 2025,[4] with Sánchez, credited for helping to organize the group.[3][5]

New spacesuits, specifically designed for women, were created by Monse, a fashion house founded by creative directors formerly associated with Oscar de la Renta.[6] NS-31 was the first spaceflight with only female space passengers since the 1963 Vostok 6 solo mission, in which Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space.[2][7] Nguyen became the first woman of Vietnamese descent, and Bowe the first Bahamian person, to fly to space.[8]

The flight took off from the Blue Origin Launch Site southeast of El Paso, Texas on April 14, 2025, at 13:30:00 UTC (8:30 am CDT, local time at the launch site).[9][10] It lasted 10 minutes and 21 seconds, including a few minutes of weightlessness for the passengers onboard,[2] as the capsule passed the Kármán line.[2] While in flight, Perry sang part of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" and held both a piece of paper with the setlist for her upcoming The Lifetimes Tour and a daisy in tribute to her daughter of that name.[11]

The spacecraft touched back down safely in the Chihuahuan Desert 10 minutes and 21 seconds after liftoff, where they were greeted by Bezos.[12] Among those present at the event were Khloe Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Oprah Winfrey, and Mae Jemison.[5][13]

Reception

[edit]

The mission drew largely negative reactions. Some commentators criticized the framing of the flight as a feminist milestone, arguing it was undermined by Bezos's political donations to candidates opposing abortion rights.[14] Moira Donegan criticized the mission for emphasizing appearance over substantive achievements.[15] Public figures including Emily Ratajkowski and Olivia Munn questioned the flight's timing amid broader economic challenges,[16][17] while others such as Amy Schumer, Olivia Wilde, Wendy's,[18] and Kesha all uploaded sarcastic posts to social media.[19] Perry's participation was also singled out for criticism.[20][21]

Criticism also came from Administrator Sean Duffy, who argued that the passengers did not qualify as astronauts under Federal Aviation Administration guidelines.[22] In response to Duffy, Eric Berger of Ars Technica noted that New Shepard passengers had long been recognized as space travelers by the agency.[23] Some commentary praised aspects of the mission, with retired NASA astronaut Mike Massimino emphasizing its potential to inspire public interest in space exploration.[24] Melanie McFarland of Salon highlighted Nguyen's milestone as the first Vietnamese woman to enter space.[25]

Responding to the criticism, King stated that the spaceflight was "bigger than one man or one company" and that she hoped people could separate the two.[2] In interviews, Nguyen noted that she was neither wealthy, nor a celebrity, and acknowledged the problems with resource-intensive space travel amid the economic conditions on Earth.[26] Perry told the Associated Press that she was going on the mission solely because "it's an important moment for the future of commercial space travel, for humanity in general, and for women",[27] though later stated that she regretted the "public spectacle" of the event.[28]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ McDowell, Jonathan (April 23, 2025). "Jonathan's Space Report No. 844". planet4589.org. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Holpuch, Amanda (April 14, 2025). "Blue Origin passengers Including Gayle King and Katy Perry Returns Safely After Space Launch". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 14, 2025. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Strickland, Ashley (February 27, 2025). "Katy Perry and Gayle King are among 6 women headed to space aboard New Shepard". CNN. Archived from the original on February 27, 2025. Retrieved February 27, 2025.
  4. ^ Rice, Doyle (February 27, 2025). "Historic all-woman space flight to include Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez". USA Today. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Dunn, Marcia (April 14, 2025). "Blue Origin launches an all-female celebrity crew with Katy Perry, Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  6. ^ Friedman, Vanessa (April 12, 2025). "Their Space Suit, Their Way". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  7. ^ Wickman, Kase (April 14, 2025). "Lauren Sánchez, Katy Perry, Gayle King, and Their Historic All-Women Space Flight Lands Safely". Vanity Fair (magazine). Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  8. ^ Wills, Kate (April 15, 2025). "'You say you care about Mother Earth? I'm disgusted': The celebs at war with Katy Perry over space travel". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  9. ^ @blueorigin (February 27, 2025). "Meet the New Shepard NS-31 crew launching this spring: Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn, and Lauren Sánchez, who brought the mission together. Read more: https://bit.ly/3Xgwc5N" (Tweet). Retrieved February 27, 2025 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ "New Shepard's Crewed NS-31 Mission Targets Liftoff on April 14". Blue Origin. March 27, 2025. Archived from the original on March 27, 2025. Retrieved March 27, 2025.
  11. ^ Kaufman, Gil (April 15, 2025). "Katy Perry Posts Video of Her Blue Origin Flight Featuring Outer Space Reveal of Tour Setlist". Billboard (magazine). Retrieved April 17, 2025.
  12. ^ Griffin, Andrew; Lubian, Rhian (April 14, 2025). "Katy Perry and all-female crew land safely after being blasted into space on Blue Origin rocket". The Independent. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  13. ^ Kaufman, Anna; Moorman, Taijuan (April 14, 2025). "Oprah, Khloe Kardashian support star-studded Blue Origin space flight: 'Dream big'". USA Today. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  14. ^ Delap, Leanne (April 14, 2025). "Katy Perry and Lauren Sánchez jet off on a controversial trip to space". Toronto Star. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  15. ^ Donegan, Moira (April 15, 2025). "The Blue Origin flight showcased the utter defeat of American feminism". The Guardian. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  16. ^ Raiken, Amber (April 15, 2025). "Emily Ratajkowski accuses Blue Origin of 'destroying the planet' after space mission". The Independent. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  17. ^ Wang, Jessica (April 4, 2025). "Olivia Munn calls all-female space flight 'gluttonous'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  18. ^ Wills, Kate (April 15, 2025). "'You say you care about Mother Earth? I'm disgusted': The celebs at war with Katy Perry over space travel". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  19. ^ Jones, Damian (April 15, 2025). "Kesha endorses Wendy's "can we send Katy Perry back to space" jibe with her own subtle dig". NME. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  20. ^ "Emily Ratajkowski calls out Blue Origin space flight for 'destroying the planet'". PinkNews. April 15, 2025. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  21. ^ Hyde, Marina (April 15, 2025). "What's more vacuous than an endless vacuum? It's Lauren Sánchez and Katy Perry's party in space". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 15, 2025.
  22. ^ Portée, Alex (April 18, 2025). "Can Katy Perry call herself an astronaut? No, says the secretary of transportation". Today. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  23. ^ Berger, Eric (April 18, 2025). "Trump official to Katy Perry and Bezos' fiancée: "You cannot identify as an astronaut"". Ars Technica. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  24. ^ Ross, Martha (April 14, 2025). "Can you really call Katy Perry, Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez astronauts?". The Mercury News. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  25. ^ McFarland, Melanie (April 15, 2025). "Amanda Nguyen's space flight marks a major milestone". Salon. Retrieved April 26, 2025.
  26. ^ Chapin, Angelina (April 18, 2025). "The Aspiring Astronaut Who Couldn't Turn Down Blue Origin". TheCut.com. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  27. ^ "Blue Origin launches an all-female celebrity crew with Katy Perry, Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez". CTV News. Associated Press. April 14, 2025. Archived from the original on April 15, 2025. Retrieved April 14, 2025.
  28. ^ O'Connor, Roisin (April 18, 2025). "Katy Perry 'regrets' one thing about Blue Origin mission". The Independent. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
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