Blue Origin's historic all‑female crew prepares for space debut
Only a few hours remain until the launch of the six women who will be propelled 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 travel to the "edge of space" aboard a Blue Origin rocket. It is the first historic flight with a completely female crew. The launch is scheduled for 14 April, with the launch window opening around 4:30 PM Greenwich Mean Time. The New Shepard Mission NS-31 includes Lauren Sánchez, Aisha Bowe, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King, and Amanda Nguyen, with the crew completed by the popular singer Katy Perry. They are expected to ascend to the boundary zone of 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 period 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, this is defined as 80 kilometres). Reaching this boundary is known as the Kármán line, which serves as the conventional boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space.
This definition is based on the assumption 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 occur? As the spacecraft launches and ascends through the atmosphere towards the stratosphere, gases surrounding it gradually thin, providing less lift. To avoid stopping, the craft must accelerate. At a certain point, it reaches the speed needed to remain in space, equivalent to that required 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 explored aerodynamic conditions at high altitudes. This symbolic boundary is recognised by the International Aeronautical Federation (FAI) as the official beginning of space, which facilitates the classification of missions, for example, between suborbital and orbital flights. The legal context changes too—above the Kármán line, space law applies (including the prohibition of territorial claims by states), below—aviation law.
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.
The Blue Origin rocket will provide the crew with 10 minutes in space
There are no pilots on board Blue Origin rockets, as their flights are fully autonomous. Missions organised by Blue Origin are not new to celebrities—in the past, actor William Shatner and former NFL player Michael Strahan have participated in them.
