Amanda Nguyen brought along an emotional "zero G" indicator
Sexual assault survivor and activist Amanda Nguyen brought a hospital bracelet as a “zero G” indicator on today’s mission.
During trips to space, astronauts routinely take along stuffed animals or other objects. The indicators ride loose in the cabin and are intended to float when weightlessness sets in, giving passengers a visible tipoff that they can float in the cabin.
Nguyen said through tears that she went on today’s flight “to heal.” And she took the hospital bracelet that she wore after her assault.
The crew members are wearing designer spacesuits
The all-female crew are sporting custom spacesuits designed by Lauren Sanchez. The skin-tight royal blue suits were designed in collaboration with luxury fashion house Monse.
The suits feature flared pant legs and “Blue Origin” in bold writing on the arm and leg, alongside the space company’s trademark feather.
“In a realm once reserved for men, MONSE reimagines what it means to take up space … These custom flight suits mark a new chapter—where femininity and strength ascend together,” the fashion house posted on social media.
In a video posted on her Instagram, Sanchez was seen testing out the design by doing a few squats in it. “Well, they’re comfortable,” she had said.
New Shepard passengers scream, cry and kiss the ground
The team of passengers on today’s all-female flight is exiting the capsule.
Lauren Sanchez hugged Bezos before turning immediately to find her family. Katy Perry held the daisy flower she took on board with her up to the sky before kissing the ground.
Sanchez said the view from space was not what she expected.
“Earth looked so — it was so quiet,” she said. “And you look at it, and you’re like, ‘We’re all in this together.’”
Jeff Bezos and "Crewmember 7" approach capsule
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos just arrived at the landing site of the New Shepard capsule. Alongside him is Sarah Knights, who is the designated “Crewmember 7” for this mission.
The Crewmember 7 is a role Blue Origin established to assign an employee to guide New Shepard passengers through their mission. They take the lead in communicating to the passengers and serve as their touchstone back on Earth during flight.
The close-knit relationship makes Knight an honorary passenger, hence the “Crewmember 7” nickname.
Touchdown: Blue Origin's capsule makes a safe landing
A puff of dust just kicked up in the West Texas desert as the New Shepard capsule carrying all six passengers made a safe touchdown.
“Welcome back to Earth,” mission controllers said over the communications loop.
New Shepard rocket booster sticks landing
The rocket booster that fired Katy Perry, Gayle King and their crewmates to space just returned to Earth for a controlled, upright landing.
Blue Origin hashed out how to bring the vehicles back for a clean touchdown in order to drive down the cost of missions, making the vehicle reusable.
The New Shepard crew capsule is meanwhile parachuting home from space, and the passengers can be heard screaming with excitement on the livestream.
Blue Origin shuts down rocket engine
Blue Origin just confirmed “Main Engine Cutoff,” or MECO. The New Shepard capsule then separated from the rocket booster, allowing the crew to continue vaulting upward and ushering in a few minutes of weightlessness for the passengers.
The rocket booster is now heading for an upright landing so that it can be refurbished and reused on future flights. The capsule will deploy parachutes on the way back down to slow its descent.
Blue Origin’s Ariane Cornell confirmed that the crew made it to space, surpassing the Karman line.
The passengers could be heard marveling at the sight of the moon from the capsule.
Liftoff: New Shepard fires up its engine
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket just fired up the single engine at its base, powering the vehicle off the launchpad in West Texas.
In just a moment, the rocket will go through Max Q — that’s an aerospace term that refers to the point during flight when the New Shepard vehicle undergoes peak aerodynamic stress.
Essentially, Max Q happens at a time when the vehicle is flying quickly at altitudes where the air is still fairly thick, creating strain on the rocket.
What is the "overview effect" — and do space tourists experience it?
The overview effect is a phenomenon frequently reported by astronauts who say that viewing Earth from space can offer a profound shift in perspective. Proponents say it can inspire people to think in ways that transcend daily struggles and tasks.
As science writer Frank White, who coined the term, said on NASA’s “Houston We Have a Podcast,” the experience spurs a person to consider the fact that “we suddenly have a spacefaring species. And we may be the only one.”
“So what can we do to justify our existence, other than helping ourselves?” White said.
Katya Echazarreta — an engineer and science communicator from Guadalajara who became the first Mexican-born woman to travel to space — said she experienced the overview effect in her own way during her 2022 trip with Blue Origin.
Oprah: "I've never been more proud of my friend"
Oprah just made a quick appearance on the Blue Origin webcast.
“We’ve been friends — it’ll be 50 years next year. We’ve been friends since we were 21 and 20. And I’ve never been more proud of my friend than today.”
Oprah said she viewed this mission as “bigger” than just going to space for King, who typically has flight anxiety.
“Anytime we’re on a flight, she’s in anybody’s lap if there’s a slightest bit of turbulence, (with) real anxiety flying — and this is overcoming a wall of fear, a barrier.”
And though King herself expressed nerves for today’s mission, Oprah said, “I don’t think I’ve ever been more calm.”
Blue Origin is "Go" for launch
Mission controllers just gave the final green light for liftoff by confirming engineers are getting healthy data back from the rocket. The mission is poised to lift off in less than 10 minutes.
Katy Perry gets emotional talking about daughter ahead of launch
In a pre-taped interview with Blue Origin’s Tabitha Lipkin, Katy Perry got emotional when asked to share a message for her family.
“My message for my family is that I love them so much… and I am so grateful to be representing a fearless female in my family which is a domino affect from my mom and my sister and definitely something I feel for my daughter.”
She added that she has told her daughter, Daisy, who is 4 years old, that her mom is going to space. “It is very normal for us to talk about mommy going to space now and I will be so excited to hold her when I land.”
Perry shared that she will be taking 300 bracelets with her from her Firework Foundation to share with the kids that will attend the camp. She will also be bringing a daisy flower, “to remind us that the Earth is very precious,” she said.
A group of women space fliers is at the launch
Blue Origin just shared a snapshot of a group of women who have all traveled to space on various missions, including suborbital and orbital tourism trips.
The group includes Hayley Arceneaux and Sian Proctor, both of whom joined an orbital space tourism mission with SpaceX called Inspiration4 in 2021.
Also present were science communicator Emily Calandrelli, who flew to space with Blue Origin last year, and Sirisha Bandla, an executive with Blue Origin competitor Virgin Galactic who traveled to space with Richard Branson in 2021.
Oprah encouraged Gayle King to take this flight
Gayle King, who has openly shared her nervousness about today’s mission, said her longtime friend Oprah gave her the nudge to join today’s mission.
King said she thought Oprah would tell her not to go.
But, “She said, ‘I really think you should do it, because you’ve been talking about it, and when it comes back and you’re not on it, you’re going to be kicking yourself, saying, I could have gone and I didn’t, and I don’t want to have to hear about it for the next few years,’” King said.
Kardashians make an appearance
Kardashian family matriarch, Kris Jenner, and Khole Kardashian are present at the launch site.
“We’re here to support our girlfriend and our friends, and I never thought that we’d be talking to you from a space launch for sure,” Jenner said.
Kardashian added that she was given tips from Blue Origin staff for the launch viewing experience: “I love the messaging that we keep receiving from the staff here at Blue Origin is, don’t film it through your phones. Look through your eyes. Be as present as possible.”
Jeff Bezos offers parting words: "Good luck"
Amazon billionaire and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos just bid farewell to the group of six, who are now strapped inside their New Shepard capsule ahead of flight.
“I don’t want to get off. I want to go with you,” Bezos told the passengers. “And when you get back, I can’t wait to hear how it’s changed you. I love all of you. See you soon. Godspeed, good luck.”
The New Shepard passengers are strapped in
All six passengers on today’s flight — Gayle King, Katy Perry, Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe, Lauren Sánchez and Kerianne Flynn — have strapped into their 3.8-meter (12.5-foot) wide New Shepard capsule.
The team is now going through communications checks with mission control.
The NS-31 mission patch includes symbolism tied to each of the crew members
Upon announcing the date of today’s event in March, Blue Origin also released the design details of the official mission patch for the 31st New Shepard flight. Each element of the patch is a nod to one of the six women who will be on board the rocket, the company said.
The patch features an illustration of the New Shepard rocket pointed toward a target star that symbolizes aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe’s “ambition for setting big goals, passion for STEM, and commitment to inspiring future generations.”
A small scale of justice in the bottom left is representative of Amanda Nguyễn’s civil rights activism. Other symbols on the patch include a firework for Katy Perry, a film reel for Kerianne Flynn, a “shooting star microphone” for Gayle King, and a small fly as a nod to Lauren Sánchez’s children’s book “The Fly Who Flew to Space.” The patch includes silhouettes of six women and is topped off with each crew member’s last name bordering the design.
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