The American company Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, on 14 April made another tourist flight into space, on board of which for the first time there was an exclusively female star crew.
The mission was led by Lauren Sanchez, a helicopter pilot, journalist and Bezos’ fiancée. She was joined by singer Katy Perry, CBS anchorwoman Gayle King, producer Keriann Flynn, engineer Aisha Bove and scientist and human rights activist Amanda Nguyen.
The New Shepard spacecraft launched from west Texas, climbing to an altitude of 105 kilometres. The flight lasted 10 minutes and was fully automated. All participants had several minutes in weightlessness. The flight was part of the company’s tourism programme, which is increasingly attracting star guests. The cost of the flight has not been reported.
This is the 11th Blue Origin mission with people on board. For the first time in American space history, every seat on board was occupied by a woman. Until now, the only flight with an exclusively female crew was the flight of Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova in 1963.