Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket is scheduled to launch its NS-31 mission on April 14, marking the company's 11th human spaceflight. This mission is notable for its all-female crew, a first since 1963, and includes prominent figures such as CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King and pop superstar Katy Perry.
The crew also features civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and journalist and philanthropist Lauren Sánchez. The flight will originate from Blue Origin's West Texas launch site, reaching just above the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space at 62 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth.
The NS-31 mission patch symbolizes each crew member's contributions and passions, with symbols representing Nguyen's civil rights advocacy, Bowe's ambition, King's storytelling, Perry's artistic expression, Flynn's filmmaking, and Sánchez's children's book. The 11-minute flight will provide the crew with approximately four minutes of weightlessness and views of space.