Six women, including a pop star, an activist, a journalist and a former rocket scientist, will make history today by taking part in the first all-female space mission in nearly 60 years. The mission is being led by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, who selected the Blue Origin crew.
Speaking recently to Elle, Sanchez explained that she chose these female participants to take part in the mission based on their "ability to inspire others." Her goal, she said, is for each crew member to share her experience with the public and strengthen the role of women in space exploration.
The crew includes pop star Katy Perry, host Gayle King, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, former rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, filmmaker Kerian Flynn and, of course, Sanchez herself. This is the first all-female mission since 1963, when Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova traveled alone into space as part of the Soviet space program.
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The six women will board the New Shepard rocket today at 3 p.m. for an 11-minute flight that will travel 62 miles above Earth — the international boundary of space, as defined. The launch will take place in West Texas, as part of Blue Origin's New Shepard program's NS-31 mission.
You can follow the launch live here:
It is worth noting that, although all six women will cross the Kármán space line, they will not be officially recognized as astronauts, as they do not meet NASA or the Federal Aviation Administration's criteria.
