It’s been more than 60 years since a woman travelled into space without a man. And now six of them are blasting off from Earth.
Popstar Katy Perry, author Lauren Sanchez, journalist and TV presenter Gayle King, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, former rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn are due to launch in Jeff Bezos‘ Blue Origin rocket on Sunday.
It will be the latest flight of the New Shepard programme, named NS-31, and is aiming to “create a lasting impact that will inspire generations”, with the women forming the first all-female crew since Russian engineer Valentina Tereshkova’s solo flight to space in 1963.
The trip is only expected to last around 11 minutes, with the reusable self-driving rocket taking off from Launch Site One in west Texas, at 8.30am local time (2.30pm BST) on Monday.
It will reach a maximum height of 100km (62 miles) above Earth, with the women technically entering space as the capsule crosses the Karman line, which is internationally recognised as the boundary of space.
They will not, however, be classed as astronauts by the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA or US military, which all have different eligibility requirements for people to become commercial astronauts.
While in space, the crew will have about four minutes of weightlessness to float around and take in the views of Earth from the capsule’s large windows.
The crew capsule will then descend back to Earth using three parachutes.
So far, 52 people have been taken into space as part of billionaire and Amazon chief Mr Bezos’s programme, including the man himself, who joined the New Shepard’s maiden voyage in 2021.
Star Trek actor William Shatner became the oldest person in space when he joined the mission at the age of 90.
How the crew was picked
Mr Bezos’ fiancee is leading the mission. Sanchez told Elle magazine she chose her fellow crew members because each had “proven their ability to inspire others”.
She said all the women will be able to spread the word on what they felt like during the trip, and also expand on ideas of what the next generation of space explorers will look like.
Perry, who is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, told Elle that she has been wanting to go to space for almost 20 years, so it was a no-brainer when she got the call.
She said: “Even when Blue Origin was first talking about commercial travel to space, I was like, ‘Sign me up! I’m first in line’. And then they called me, and I was like, ‘Really? I get an invite?’.”
For King, who is best known as the co-host of US breakfast show CBS Mornings, the decision wasn’t quite so easy.
“When I got the call from Lauren and Jeff, my first reaction was a no,” she said, adding that she still has “a lot of trepidation” ahead of the trip.
Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist and chief executive of technology company STEMBoard, said she feels like she has been “training for and waiting for this moment [her] entire life”, while civil rights activist Nguyen and film producer Flynn both said the opportunity was a dream come true.
“I can’t wait to touch down on Earth and share what we bring back with the world,” Flynn said.
Glammed-up astronauts?
As well as making history by being the first all-female crew in space, the women may also be the first group of astronauts to have their hair and makeup done for a mission.
“Who would not get glam before the flight,” Sanchez said, before joking that fake eyelashes would be “flying round the capsule”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Bowe said she had already tested out the hairstyle she plans to have on launch day – by skydiving in Dubai.
“I think it’s so important for people to see us like that,” Nguyen said. “This dichotomy of engineer and scientist, and then beauty and fashion. We contain multitudes. Women are multitudes. I’m going to be wearing lipstick.”
Perry put it another way: “We are going to put the ‘ass’ in astronaut.”
The women also shared details of what they plan to take to space, including the original flag from Apollo 12 – the second mission to the moon – a stuffed animal, shells from Malaysia, and conch chowder, the national dish of The Bahamas, which Bowe grew up eating.
Read more:
Is Bezos chasing down Musk in the billionaire space race?
SpaceX tourists return to Earth
Follow our channel and never miss an update
As a singer, Perry said she feels like she should perform while floating above the Earth, which would make her the first artist to sing in space.
She added that she is also taking part in the flight for her daughter Daisy Dove Bloom, who she shares with British actor Orlando Bloom, to teach her that “any type of person can reach their dreams”.
