Coming up in 2024: Lauren Sanchez, the first woman to lead an all-female space flight
Lauren Sanchez, an American journalist who has been a partner of Jeff Bezos since 2020, will lead the first space mission made up entirely of women.
The sports reporter told The Wall Street Journal: "I'm super excited about it. And a little nervous."
The space mission, which will take place in early 2024, is not only the first for Lauren Sanchez but will also be the first to have an entire crew of women.
Obviously, Blue Origin, the company founded by Jeff Bezos, will be in charge of this historic space trip.
Blue Origin confirmed that there will be five female crew members but, beyond Sanchez, the identities of the other four are unknown.
As the launch date approaches, the company will reveal the names of the rest of the crew.
The launch date and 100% female crew are not accidental. Blue Origin is aspiring to stay ahead of NASA and its Artemis program.
This NASA program is intended to take the first female astronauts to the Moon. However, that won't happen until 2025, a year after the announced Blue Origin mission.
In fact, Blue Origin is also working on a lunar lander. They name it 'Blue Moon.' It is scheduled to launch in 2024.
For those who doubt Lauren Sanchez's ability to lead a space mission, you should know that she has tremendous experience when it comes to flying.
Lauren Sanchez not only has a helicopter pilot's license but is also the founder of 'Black Ops Aviation,' an aerial film production company run entirely by women.
In fact, as she recalls in an interview with The New York Times, after leaving her parents' house at the age of 18, flying was "the first thing I really did on my own." The passion still lasts.
Of course it is true that flying a helicopter is very different from a space rocket. However, Blue Origin claims, the experience is a degree and Lauren Sanchez knows what it is to move at great heights.
The ultimate goal of Sanchez' and other missions is to get civilians into space, not professional astronauts. For that reason, the leadership of Lauren Sanchez, a journalist, is very much a marketing stunt.
In fact, Blue Origin confirms the full training that the flight crew will receive will only take two days.
Although space travel service with Blue Origin is not yet priced, we know from past experience that a bidder came to offer 28 million dollars for a seat on the company's first flight in 2021.