Blue Origin has announced the launch date for its historic NS-31 tourist flight, featuring an all-female crew of celebrities and activists. The mission will take off aboard the New Shepard rocket, bringing the crew to the edge of space and back.
New Shepard’s crewed NS-31 mission is targeting liftoff from Launch Site One on April 14, with the launch window opening at 8:30 a.m. CDT / 13:30 UTC.
Learn more about the symbolism behind the mission patch: https://t.co/w4ryNViYPI pic.twitter.com/VRzlUpI09Z
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) March 27, 2025
Among the passengers are civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, who will become the first Vietnamese woman in space, CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King, pop star Katy Perry, film producer Kerianne Flynn, entrepreneur and ex-NASA scientist Aisha Bowe, and journalist-philanthropist Lauren Sánchez, partner of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.
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The NS-31 mission is scheduled to lift off from Blue Origin’s West Texas launch site on Monday, April 14, at 9:30 a.m. ET (7:00 p.m. IST). As with previous Blue Origin launches, you can watch the event live right here on Space.com, courtesy of Blue Origin, once the livestream becomes available.
“If someone had told me I’d be part of the first all-female space crew, I would have believed them,” Perry shared on Instagram last month. “Now, more than ever, I’m motivated to be an example for my daughter, showing her that women belong in every space—pun intended. This opportunity is truly amazing because I get to inspire the youngest and most vulnerable to reach for the stars, both literally and figuratively. I’m honored to join this diverse group of celestial sisters.”
The upcoming NS-31 mission will be Blue Origin’s 31st New Shepard flight and 11th suborbital mission with humans aboard. So far, the company has launched 52 people past the Kármán line, which marks the edge of space at 330,000 feet above sea level. This mission will be the first all-female space flight since cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s historic solo journey in 1963, when she became the first woman in space.
Katy Perry’s space expedition will occur between rehearsals for her Lifetimes Tour, which kicks off in Mexico City on April 23. The tour supports her new album 143, which debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. Perry will perform across the U.S., Canada, Australia, South America, and Europe, with shows scheduled through mid-November.
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