Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket recently completed a milestone human spaceflight with a star-studded, all-female crew – the first in over six decades.
SPACE GIRLS
Named after astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, New Shepard is a fully reusable, suborbital rocket system built by Blue Origin.
The company was founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos with the vision of enabling a future where millions of people are living and working in space for the benefit of Earth.
Today, Blue Origin is learning to harness materials found in space to enable future exploration.
This includes using lunar dust to produce solar power systems, power transmission cables, and oxygen for propellants and human consumption, as well as developing systems to identify water ice on the Moon’s south pole for the extraction of hydrogen to refuel its landers.
New Shepard, one of two Blue Origin rocket systems along with New Glenn, has been designed for operational reusability, which is the key to reducing the cost of spaceflight.
Indeed, almost 99 percent of New Shepard’s dry mass, including the booster, capsule, ring fin, engine, landing gear, and parachutes, is reused.
The vehicle features a vertical take-off and landing architecture, enabling booster reuse up to 25 times with minimal refurbishment.
Its reusable, throttleable, and liquid-propellant BE-3PM engine, meanwhile, is fuelled by highly efficient liquid oxygen and hydrogen.
During flight, the only byproduct of New Shepard’s engine combustion is water vapour, with no carbon emissions emitted.
The rocket system has also been designed to ensure minimal maintenance between flights, lowering the cost of access to space and reducing waste.
LADIES HAVE LIFT-OFF
On the 11-minute journey, New Shepard astronauts ascend towards space from Launch Site One, nestled in the Guadalupe Mountains near Van Horn, Texas.
At more than three times the speed of sound, they soar past the Kármán line – the internationally-recognised boundary of space – before unbuckling to experience several minutes of weightlessness and enjoy breathtaking views of Earth.
Though the vehicle is fully autonomous, meaning there are no pilots, New Shepard’s pressurised crew capsule has enough room for six people and is environmentally controlled for comfort.
In this spacious capsule, each astronaut gazes upon the planet from their own giant windows, among the largest to have ever flown in space, which comprise one third of the capsule’s surface area.
Uniquely, on the NS-31 mission, the six astronauts – Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn, and Lauren Sánchez – were all women, heralding the first all-female spaceflight since Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in 1963.
The mission challenged their perspectives of Earth, empowered them to share their own stories, and created lasting impact that will inspire generations to come.
PRIORITISING SAFETY
New Shepard began flying humans in 2021 following the conclusion of a rigorous flight test programme.
This included several successful flight and capsule escape tests, demonstrating that the crew escape system, which separates the capsule from the booster in the unlikely event an issue is detected, can safely activate during any phase of the flight – whether from the launch pad, mid-flight, or in the vacuum of space.
The crew capsule also has numerous redundant safety systems, including a retro-thrust system that expels a burst of nitrogen gas to slow the landing to around two miles per hour.
Additionally, the capsule can land with only one of its three parachutes deployed, whilst the seats and a crushable ring on the bottom of the capsule are designed to absorb g-forces.
Blue Origin’s on-site training programme is also meticulously designed to teach astronauts everything they need to know for a safe spaceflight onboard New Shepard, from the mission profile and safety systems to zero-gravity protocols.
These measures ensured the historic NS-31 mission was safely executed and created history with the first all-female spaceflight in over six decades.
MEET THE NS-31 MISSION CREW
- Aisha Bowe – A former NASA rocket scientist, entrepreneur, and global STEM advocate, Aisha Bowe is the CEO of engineering firm STEMBoard and Founder of EdTech company, LINGO. She became the first person of Bahamian descent to visit space as part of the mission.
- Amanda Nguyễn – Bioastronautics research scientiest Amanda Nguyễn graduated from Harvard University in 2013. As the first Vietnamese and Southeast Asian woman astronaut, her flight was a symbol of reconciliation between the US and Vietnam and highlighted science as a tool for peace.
- Gayle King – Award-winning journalist Gayle King is recognised as a gifted, compassionate interviewer capable of breaking through the noise and creating meaningful conversations. She is a co-host of CBS Mornings, editor-at-large of Oprah Daily, and host of Gayle King in the House on SiriusXM radio.
- Katy Perry – The biggest-selling female artist in Capitol Records’ history and one of the best-selling music artists of all time with over 115 billion streams, Katy Perry is a global pop superstar.
- Kerianne Flynn – Following a successful fashion and HR career, Kerianne Flynn has spent the last decade channelling her energy into community-building. She is passionate about the transformative power of storytelling and has produced thought-provoking films such as This Changes Everything and Lilly.
- Lauren Sánchez – Emmy award-winning journalist Lauren Sánchez founded Black Ops Aviation, the first female-owned and operated aerial film and production company, in 2016.
NS-31 MISSION PATCH – KEY SYMBOLS
- Target star – Aisha Bowe’s ambition for setting big goals, passion for STEM, and commitment to inspiring future generations.
- Scales of justice – Amanda Nguyễn’s efforts to advocate for civil rights, break barriers, and empower everyday people to create change.
- Shooting star microphone – Gayle King’s commitment to sharing important stories with the world.
- Firework – Katy Perry’s global influence across music, pop culture, and philanthropy.
- Film reel – Kerianne Flynn’s passion for filmmaking, storytelling, and crafting beautiful narratives.
- Flynn the Fly – The main character in Lauren Sánchez’s best-selling children’s book, The Fly Who Flew to Space.
