Women set to break barriers on historic Blue Origin flight
Hours remain until the launch of six women who will be taken into space aboard a Blue Origin rocket. Among the first all-female crew to cross the Kármán line will be Katy Perry. Does this mean they can be considered astronauts?
The six women will fly to the "edge of space" aboard a Blue Origin rocket. This will be the first historic flight with a fully female crew. The launch is scheduled for April 14, with the launch window opening around 11:30 AM Eastern Time. The New Shepard Mission NS-31 includes: Lauren Sánchez, Aisha Bowe, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King, and Amanda Nguyen. The crew is completed by the popular singer Katy Perry. They are expected to ascend to the boundary zone - the Kármán line.
Where Earth ends and space begins
Although the crew will remain in space for only about 10 minutes and experience a brief moment of weightlessness, it is sufficient for them to be considered astronauts under international law. Why? One only needs to exceed an altitude of 100 kilometres above sea level (in the USA - 80 kilometres). Reaching this boundary is called the Kármán line, which serves as the conventional boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space.
The definition is based on the premise that above this line, traditional lift suddenly ceases to function, and staying in space requires orbital velocity (about 7.8 kilometres per second, as scientists report). When does this happen? When the spacecraft, after launch, rises high through the atmosphere towards the stratosphere, gases surrounding it gradually thin, providing less lift. To avoid stopping, the machine must accelerate. At a certain point, it reaches the speed required to keep the craft in space, equal to that needed to orbit Earth.
The official beginning of space according to the International Aeronautical Federation
The name comes from Theodore von Kármán, a Hungarian-American engineer who examined aerodynamic conditions at high altitudes. This symbolic boundary is recognized by the International Aeronautical Federation (FAI) as the official beginning of space, which facilitates mission classification, for instance, between suborbital and orbital flights. The legal aspect changes too - above the Kármán line, space law applies (including the prohibition of territorial claims by states), whereas below, aviation law applies.
The first object to cross this boundary was the German V2 rocket during tests in the 1940s.
The Blue Origin rocket is a reusable carrier with a crew capsule that cannot orbit Earth but ascends above the Kármán line. These missions last about 10 minutes, during which passengers have the opportunity to experience approximately 4 minutes of weightlessness and enjoy the view of Earth from space through the large New Shepard windows, as reported by Blue Origin.
Blue Origin rocket to provide crew with 10 minutes in space
There are no pilots on board Blue Origin rockets as their flights are fully autonomous. Missions organized by Blue Origin are not new to celebrities – in the past, actor William Shatner and former NFL player Michael Strahan have participated.
