Is Katy Perry an astronaut? This is why she may not be

Katy Perry was one of the six women who blasted into space on Monday as part of Blue Origin’s New Shepard program.

The crew also included rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyễn, TV presenter Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez.

The Blue Origin mission reached a maximum height of 66.5 miles (107 km) which put them just above the Karman line, a boundary used to define the start of space. The extraordinary trip lasted 11 minutes.

Upon their return to Earth, Blue Origin posted on X: “We just completed our 11th human spaceflight and the 31st flight of the New Shepard program."

The post continues by naming all the women who are part of the “astronaut crew”.

Although, according to rules issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Perry and her fellow space passengers are not astronauts.

The New Shepard was designed to be autonomous, meaning no one on board controlled any aspects of the flight.

This suggests that the six women are instead classified as ‘space travellers’, which is still extremely impressive.

The FAA launched its Commercial Space Astronaut Wings Program in 2004 which recognised anyone as an astronaut who flew above 50 miles on an FAA-approved vehicle.

But with the rise of commercial spaceflight programs, the FAA moved to restrict the rules on who could get the coveted astronaut title.

The six women flew to space on MondayBlue Origin

The FAA added the requirement in 2021 that the crew member had “demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety" to be an astronaut.

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket was designed specifically for space tourism and was therefore autonomous.

However, activities that are “essential to public safety” is up to the FAA’s discretion and can lead to different interpretations.

Anyone who exceeds 50 miles in an FAA-licensed vehicle is added by the FAA to the Human Spaceflight Recognition list. At the time of writing, Katy Perry and her crew mates have yet to be added.

You should also read:

• Emily Ratajkowski slams Katy Perry's Blue Origin space mission: 'This is beyond parody'
• Lauren Sanchez hits back over Blue Origin criticism in 'fired up' post

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