Founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos in 2000, Blue Origin is a private space company headquartered in Kent, Washington. According to its website, the organization aims to leverage space’s resources to benefit Earth as well as expand humanity’s presence through increased transportation and the creation of living and working destinations in low Earth orbit.

Blue Origin says it’s working to achieve these goals by building reusable rockets and engines to reduce the cost of space travel, make space access more accessible to civilians, and drive sustainability. “Our vision is millions of people living and working in space,” Bezos said during a talk at the 2016 Pathfinder Awards. “We want to reduce the cost of getting into space dramatically by focusing on reusability.”

### Booking a Flight on Blue Origin

So, how much does it cost to book a seat on a Blue Origin flight? While the company doesn’t list prices on its website, it does note that a $150,000 deposit is required.

### New Shepard: Blue Origin’s Suborbital Rocket System

Named after astronaut Alan Shepard, who made history as the first American to travel to space in 1961, New Shepard is what Blue Origin describes as a “fully reusable, suborbital rocket system built for human flight.” Six people can sit in New Shepard’s pressurized crew capsule. However, don’t expect a pilot seat — Blue Origin’s website notes, “The vehicle is fully autonomous—there are no pilots.”

New Shepard first launched in 2015 as part of a flight test program consisting of 16 successful tests, completed in 2021. In July of that year, Jeff Bezos and his brother Mark took part in New Shepard’s first human flight alongside an auction winner who secured a seat for $28 million. Notable travelers later included William Shatner and Michael Strahan (on separate missions).

### Upcoming Mission: NS-31

The upcoming voyage will mark New Shepard’s 31st mission (hence the name NS-31) and its 11th human flight. Each crew member has her own reasons for being part of this mission.

In a recent ELLE cover story, many women expressed a desire to inspire future generations. Perry, for instance, wants to remind her daughter Daisy — whom she shares with fiancé Orlando Bloom — to “never have limits on her dreams and show her that any type of person can reach their dreams—no matter your background, ethnicity, economic situation, or education level.”

King, who has been honest about her nerves, hopes to encourage people to step outside their comfort zones. “Once I do it,” she said, “then the doors will open for so many other people who thought, ‘Okay, I was one of those reluctant people, but now I’m here and I am really, really excited to go.'”

Nguyen shared a powerful story about fulfilling a “dream deferred.” After studying astrophysics at Harvard and MIT and working at NASA, she faced gender-based violence which led her to trade her telescope for advocacy on sexual assault survivors’ rights. She drafted the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights, which passed in Congress and the United Nations. “After 10 years,” she said, “I wanted to honor the person I was before I was hurt.”

### Training and Preparation

According to Good Morning America, all crew members will head to the launch site days before the mission for training sessions. These include getting fitted for flight suits, becoming familiar with the capsule, learning communication with ground control, and reviewing safety protocols.

Some crew members also prepared independently. Bowe told ELLE she turned up the intensity of her training recently, completing a NASTAR simulation to experience what to expect on the flight. “For me, the physical preparation is really important. I want to have my body know what it feels like to go up.” She has also booked a fighter jet flight in preparation.

Flynn shared she participated in zero-gravity simulation flights aboard a Boeing 747 flying parabolic patterns to simulate weightlessness. She also did NASTAR training in Philadelphia, experiencing up to five Gs of pressure.

### Personal Items Aboard the Flight

King plans to bring some photos, while Sánchez is carrying a stuffed animal of the character Flynn from her children’s book *The Fly Who Flew to Space*.

Bowe is bringing a historic object: the Apollo 12 flag. Nancy Conrad, wife of Pete Conrad—the third man to walk on the moon and Bowe’s mentor—inspired her to carry the flag, courtesy of the Museum of Flight in Seattle. Bowe is also bringing plant samples from Winston-Salem State University’s Astrobotany Lab, and dehydrated conch chowder as a nod to The Bahamas.

Nguyen is carrying personal items including her mother’s shells from the island where she is a refugee. She is also bringing a written promise to herself: “Never ever give up,” taped to her laptop after her assault. Additionally, according to her Instagram, she’s bringing the pen former president Barack Obama used to sign the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Act, the Nguyen dynasty coin, and Freetown cotton tree seeds.

### Support and Criticism

Several stars sent uplifting messages to the crew. King received a send-off video from CBS Mornings featuring Tom Hanks, Megan Rapinoe, Bill Nye, Drew Barrymore, and others.

However, the mission has also faced criticism. On *Today with Jenna & Friends* (April 3), actress King expressed reservations about the cost, saying, “I know this is probably not the cool thing to say, but there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now.” She questioned the value of spending large sums on space travel when many people struggle for basic needs. “Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride? I think it’s a bit gluttonous,” she added.

King also addressed critiques targeting Jeff Bezos and the perception that this mission serves as an advertisement for him and Blue Origin. “Listen, it is troubling to me, too,” she told CBS Mornings on April 11. “There have been some questions and decisions that he’s made that I’ve actually gone, ‘Huh?’ But I think in this particular case, this is so much bigger than one man and one company. I’ve chosen to separate the two. It’s not a zero-sum game. You can do this on one hand and this on the other hand, and both things can be true.”

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Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission represents a continued effort to expand humanity’s reach into space, inspire future generations, and make spaceflight more accessible. Despite debate surrounding its cost and purpose, the flight showcases individual stories of courage, ambition, and the desire to break barriers.
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