Singer Katy Perry rode on Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft on April 14, 2025 with an all female crew for a historic suborbital mission. It was the first all women space mission since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo mission in 1963.The 11-minute suborbital mission gave the crew a short experience of weightlessness and breathtaking views of the Earth as it flew from West Texas and over the Karman line.
New York Times journalist Gayle King, NASA engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, movie producer Kerianne Flynn, journalist and mission curator Lauren Sanchez were part of Singer Katy Perry flew Blue Origin’s New Shepard spaceship on April 14, 2025 with all female crew on a record-breaking suborbital flight. It was the first all-female spaceflight since Valentina Tereshkova flew alone in 1963.The 11 minute spaceflight captured a few seconds of weightlessness and stunning vistas of the planet by crew members as they flew over West Texas and the Karman line. The crew of six included journalist Gayle King (NASA engineer) Aisha Bowe (civil rights activist) Amanda Nguyen (filmmaker Kerianne Flynn) and journalist and mission curator Lauren Sanchez. When she came back from the mission perry dedicated her daughter Daisy by singing “What a Wonderful World” as she held tenderly a daisy.
Though it was greeted by some as a triumph for women in space however the flight itself was not controversy free. The astronauts were condemned for their decision with accusations they had been selected primarily for publicity reasons and not necessarily for scientific interest. The flight itself had been condemned with criticism asserting it was done primarily for show and not as part of an attempt to be of use to human space travel.
Despite polarized opinions, the flight of NS-31 was a landmark in contemporary debate on diversity and the private sector role in space flight. When Perry returned to earth she honored her daughter Daisy by singing “What a Wonderful World” while grasping a daisy in hand.
The flight was controversial but it was also welcomed by some as being a landmark moment in women’s participation in space. Others criticized the members of the crew for making their choice as much on the basis of celebrity status as credentials. The flight was subject to charges of hype but not sufficient actual contribution toward making space travel a going business. In spite of the split responses NS-31 is an important milestone in recent controversy over diversity and private industry participation in space exploration.
