By Lily Lewis, Originally published by Michigan Aerospace
Aerospace Engineering alumna and U-M role model, Aisha Bowe, is set to go to space on the first-ever all-women Blue Origin New Shepard’s Crewed NS-31 flight, scheduled to launch on April 14, 2025. This historic flight will be Blue Origin’s 11th human space mission that will cross the Kármán line – the internationally recognized boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space, 62 miles (100 km) above Earth.
Not only is this a historic flight for Blue Origin but also for U-M alumni from around the world. Bowe is the first female U-M alumna and sixth Black woman to make this journey to space. This achievement comes 30 years after NASA astronaut Mae Jemison became the first Black woman to travel to space aboard the Endeavour on mission STS47.
Bowe will be joined by her fellow soon-to-be astronauts Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sánchez. This historic flight is expected to last about 11 minutes from takeoff to touchdown. In addition to marking Blue Origin’s 11th human mission, it will also be the 31st launch in the New Shepard program, named as a tribute to Alan Shepard, the first American to venture into space.