Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos' girlfriend and television presenter, will lead Blue Origin's mission into space. Interestingly, this mission will be filled entirely by a female crew or an all-female crew.
This news was conveyed directly by Sanchez in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Sanchez said she would fly into orbit with five other women.
The 53-year-old woman did not reveal which women would fly with her. The names will only be announced ahead of the mission's launch in early 2024.
"These will be women who make a difference in the world and have an impact and a message to send," Sanchez said, as quoted by Gizmodo, Sunday (29/1/2023).
"I was so impatient. And a little nervous. I wanted to be in the rocket from the start, so (Jeff Bezos) was really excited to make that happen with all these women."
Sanchez himself has been a helicopter pilot for 10 years. He will lead the mission which will fly using the New Shepard rocket made by Blue Origin.
This rocket will carry Sanchez and five other crew members to the border between Earth and outer space called the Karman Line which is at an altitude of 100 km. After arriving at the limit, Sanchez and friends will float for a few minutes in outer space before returning to Earth.
Blue Origin has launched four manned missions into space since July 20, 2021. The first flight of the New Shepard rocket took Bezos and his brother into space with two other people.
But the New Shepard rocket is currently grounded after failing to launch a few months ago. In September 2022, the rocket booster experienced an anomaly and caught fire just 65 seconds after launch.