Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin successfully completed a flight of a spacecraft carrying only women, including pop star KT and Bezos' fiancée. This marks the first time a space flight with an all-female crew has occurred in the United States.
On the 14th (local time), according to the Associated Press, Blue Origin's spacecraft 'New Shepard' was launched from West Texas, U.S., and returned to Earth after completing a approximately 10-minute space flight (mission name NS-31).
New Shepard reached an altitude of 107 kilometers (66 miles), surpassing the boundary of Earth and space known as the altitude of 100 kilometers 'Kármán Line,' and the passengers enjoyed the view of Earth from space while experiencing a few minutes of weightlessness.
American pop singer KT returned to Earth and, when the hatch of the space capsule opened, she raised the daisy she was holding high towards the sky, then knelt down and lightly kissed the dirt on the ground.
KT said in an interview with Blue Origin that the space journey that day was "the best of the best." She added, "It's immersing yourself in the unknown world," urging, ‘‘Trust me. I really recommend this experience.’’ He also responded affirmatively when asked if he would create a song about this space journey, saying, "Of course. 100%.
The other passengers on this spacecraft included six women, such as Bezos' fiancée Lauren Sanchez and Gail King, known for hosting the CBS morning show. King stated in an interview that when she looked down at Earth from space, it was "truly quiet and peaceful."
It was reported that at a moment when all the passengers were moved, KT sang a few lines of the song 'What a Wonderful World'.
The remaining passengers for this flight include aerospace engineer Aisha Bow, film producer Kerri Ann Flynn, and bioclimatologist and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, all of whom are women.
Until this flight, the only instance of a space flight with only women was in 1963 when the then-Soviet female astronaut Valentina Tereshkova flew solo. While more than 700 people have traveled to space, only about 15% of them are women, the Associated Press noted.
Sanchez, who planned this flight ahead of marrying Bezos in Venice in two months, revealed that only women were specifically chosen for this space flight.
Female celebrities, including broadcaster Oprah Winfrey, a friend of King, and reality TV star Kylie Jenner from the Kardashian family, visited West Texas to watch the launch.
Billionaire adventurer Jared Isaacman, a nominee for Director General of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), congratulated Blue Origin and the NS-31 crew with a post on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “It’s our dream to open this amazing (universe) boundary from minority to majority.”
Isaacman, founder of digital payment processing company Shift4, has planned and funded two civilian space flights in conjunction with SpaceX, led by Elon Musk.
Blue Origin did not disclose how much this space flight cost. However, a spokesperson from Blue Origin stated that some of the passengers flew for free while others paid, noting that they did not disclose who paid, CNN reported.
Similar to Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, which sells civilian spaceflight experiences, sold tickets for about $450,000 (approximately 640 million won) per person.
This launch marks Blue Origin's 11th manned space flight. The first manned space flight occurred in 2021 with Bezos on board.