Apparently, if you have enough money to spare, you can join the space race dominated by government agencies. Take it from Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. Although, Jeff Bezos is staying in the backseat this time. Blue Origin will be sending an all-woman crew to space led by his girlfriend, Lauren Sánchez.
Dreams of Outer Space
Sánchez is a media practitioner known for her work as an entertainment reporter and news anchor. It wouldn't have crossed people's minds that she would one day lead an all-woman trip to space, yet here we are.
Her boyfriend and founder of Amazon and Blue Origin Jeff Bezos, is encouraging her to do the mission and is more than happy to do it. The space flight could happen around early 2024, according to The Verge.
Lauren Sánchez expressed that the flight will consist of four other impactful women who are making a difference in the world and has a message to send. She also mentioned that she will be holding Bezos back from the flight and that he'll be cheering from the sidelines.
The former reporter admitted that she was a little nervous about the mission, but is also very excited about it. It's still unknown who will make it to the list regarding the flight, but considering Sánchez's friendship with Kim Kardashian, she might make the cut, as mentioned in Hola.
Blue Origin's Previous Flights
Although the aerospace and spaceflight company was founded in September 2000, it wasn't until July 2021 that it launched its first flight. The first New Shepard space flight had the founder himself on board accompanied by his brother and two other people.
The second flight followed just a few months after, wherein the flight held "Star Trek" star William Shatner. The trip was documented for the "Shatner in Space" show, and since Shatner was 90 years old at the time, he became the oldest person to ever reach space.
The next flight after Shatner's was manned by six people including Michael Strahan, a former NFL player for the New York Giants. The flight included Laura Shepard Churchley, who is the daughter of the first American in space, Alan Shepard.
The last flight before Lauren Sánchez's was on March 2022. Comedian Pete Davidson was supposed to be an honorary guest on board, but the rescheduled flight clashed with Davidson's schedule and he was not able to attend.
Blue Origin vs SpaceX
Although Blue Origin has done missions for NASA, it has still been more or less recreational flights. Compared to its competitor, SpaceX founded in 2002 by no other than Elon Musk, has sent actually trained astronauts to space.
Blue Origin has a long way to go. It will be hard to catch up with SpaceX's record of 204 launches, 166 landings, and 139 re-flights. Musk's space project has also managed to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station.
Either way, it's still a good image for Blue Origin to send an all-woman crew out in space. The company is already set to launch a rocket for the Vulcan Missions, which are backed by the Pentagon.
