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The singer and songwriter Katy Perry and the broadcast journalist and show host Gayle King will be among the all-female crew on the next mission of New Shepard, the space tourism rocket that is operated by Jeff Bezos\u2019 private company, Blue Origin.<\/p>\n
Blue Origin announced the lineup on Thursday, ahead of a planned spaceflight this spring, though no specific date has been announced for the launch. It will also include Aisha Bowe, a former NASA engineer; Amanda Nguyen, a research scientist; Kerianne Flynn, a film producer; and Lauren S\u00e1nchez, who is Mr. Bezos\u2019 fianc\u00e9e and a helicopter pilot.<\/p>\n
The company has garnered attention for its flights by including celebrities or highlighting new milestones in spaceflight.<\/p>\n
The spring launch will be the 11th flight carrying passengers and the 31st mission overall for New Shepard. The suborbital rocket is named after Alan Shepard, the first American to reach space in 1961 and one of the astronauts who walked on the moon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Flights on the fully reusable vehicle last just over 10 minutes and take participants to an altitude higher than 62 miles. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station, by contrast, orbit about 250 miles above the Earth.<\/p>\n
Mr. Bezos, the founder of Amazon and one of the wealthiest men on the planet, was among the first passengers on New Shepard in 2021, the year of Blue Origin\u2019s first crewed flight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Others who have been part of a New Shepard crew include William Shatner, who played the role of Captain Kirk on Star Trek, in 2021; Edward Dwight, who at 90 years old reached space in 2024, more than 60 years after he was passed over as the first Black astronaut; and Michael Strahan, the \u201cGood Morning America\u201d co-host, who flew on a mission in 2021.<\/p>\n
Here is the crew of the NS-31 mission:<\/p>\n
Aisha Bowe<\/strong> is a former aerospace engineer at the NASA Ames Research Center and the chief executive officer of STEMBoard, an engineering firm that provides advisory services to U.S. government organizations. Of Bahamian heritage, Ms. Bowe \u201chopes her journey from community college to space will inspire young people in the Bahamas and around the world to pursue their dreams,\u201d a Blue Origin statement said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Amanda Nguyen<\/strong> is a researcher in bioastronautics, which is the study of how to support life in space, at various institutions, including M.I.T. and the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard and the Smithsonian. She worked on the final NASA space shuttle mission, STS-135, in 2011, and on the Kepler exoplanet mission. Ms. Nguyen is also the founder of Rise, a nonprofit rights and advocacy group for survivors of sexual violence. For her work, she was nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.<\/p>\n Gayle King<\/strong> is a journalist and co-host of \u201cCBS Mornings,\u201d as well as an editor at large of the website Oprah Daily (and she has long been known as Oprah Winfrey\u2019s best friend), and the host of a call-in show \u201cGayle King in the House\u201d <\/em>on SiriusXM radio. The Blue Origin statement said that Ms. King is \u201csomeone who is staying open to new adventures, even ones that scare her.\u201d<\/p>\n Katy Perry<\/strong> <\/strong>is <\/strong>one of the biggest names in pop music as a singer and songwriter. She is also the founder of the Firework Foundation, which works to empower children in underserved communities through the arts. She was appointed as UNICEF goodwill ambassador in 2013.<\/p>\n Kerianne Flynn<\/strong>, a film producer for the films \u201cThis Changes Everything\u201d (2018), which explores the history of women in Hollywood, and \u201cLilly\u201d (2024), a tribute to Lilly Ledbetter, the fair-pay advocate. Ms. Flynn is on the board of trustees at the Allen-Stevenson School in New York City, and on the development committee of Hudson River Park.<\/p>\n Lauren S\u00e1nchez, <\/strong>a helicopter pilot, founded Black Ops Aviation in 2016, an aerial film and production company. She won an Emmy Award as part of a news television team. She serves as the vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund, Mr. Bezos\u2019 philanthropic effort. She is the author of a children\u2019s book, \u201cThe Fly Who Flew to Space.\u201d Ms. S\u00e1nchez, who is engaged to Mr. Bezos, \u201cbrought the mission together,\u201d the Blue Origin statement said, referring to the New Shepherd crew.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n