On April 14, 2025, a Blue Origin rocket carried six women into suborbital space, including aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, journalist Gayle King, film producer Kerriann Flynn, journalist Lauren Sánchez, and pop star Katy Perry. It marked the first all-female crew to fly to space since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo Soviet mission in 1963, a milestone immediately framed by headlines, hashtags, and divided opinion.
Supporters saw the mission as symbolic, a statement about inclusivity in a historically exclusive domain. Others criticized it as a carefully staged publicity event: expensive, exclusive, and light on scientific merit. But to understand why this flight matters, and why it’s provoking strong reactions, it helps to look at the broader context. Because the real story here isn’t just about this rocket. It’s about where space is going next, who gets to be part of it, and what role commercial actors will play in shaping it.
The global space economy is projected to surpass $1 trillion by 2040, fueled not just by exploration, but by commercialization. In 2024 alone, over 300 private space missions were launched globally, from satellite constellations to resupply missions, deep-space probes to tourism experiments. SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic have led the commercial wave, but traditional players like NASA and ESA are also partnering with startups at unprecedented rates. Where “space” once meant planetary science or Cold War competition, it now spans broadband delivery, remote sensing, orbital manufacturing, and space mining R&D. The boundary between exploration and industry is blurring. And so is the boundary between those who go to space for research, and those who go for brand equity or bucket lists.
Suborbital tourism, the kind Blue Origin offers, sits in a different category than crewed missions to the International Space Station or lunar expeditions. The flights are brief, reaching the Kármán line (100 km above Earth), allowing passengers a few minutes of weightlessness and a view of Earth’s curvature before descending. These missions carry no research payloads. They’re experiential, and increasingly, they’re also used as platforms for storytelling and media coverage. The space tourism market is growing. Valued at $1.3 billion in 2024, it's expected to reach $6.7 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 31.6%. Demand is being driven not just by private citizens, but by brands, influencers, and companies who see value in being “first” to space. For critics, this raises ethical concerns. What happens when symbolism overtakes substance? When billionaires book flights in the name of inclusion, but only the ultra-elite get to participate?
Amid this shift, Europe is recalibrating its own space strategy. While the United States accounts for 64% of global public space spending, Europe contributes just 11%. Still, it’s making key moves. The July 2024 inaugural launch of the Ariane 6 rocket restored Europe’s autonomous access to space. ESA’s investment in startups, from Germany’s Isar Aerospace to Luxembourg’s legal frameworks for space mining, signals a recognition that sovereignty in space will be economic as much as scientific. ESA’s emphasis remains largely research-focused, but commercial partnerships are accelerating. The continent’s approach is structured, long-term, and geared toward capability, less public-facing than American counterparts, but strategically expansive.
The NS-31 mission was undeniably symbolic. All six passengers were women. Two were women of color. Several had publicly spoken about the importance of representation in STEM. There was a curated wardrobe partnership. There were interviews, exclusives, and live streams.
Critics questioned the environmental footprint of space tourism, the exclusivity of seats priced beyond reach for most women, and the optics of using a diversity milestone as part of a billionaire’s brand narrative. Others argued that symbols, however commercial, still matter, and that visibility can inspire young women and shift public imagination around who belongs in space.
The Blue Origin flight didn’t redefine space travel, but it reflects its current trajectory. Space is no longer only about distance. It’s about access, participation, and narrative. As commercial missions expand, so too does the range of meanings attached to spaceflight, be it technical, economic, personal, symbolic. What we’re witnessing is not just the commercialization of orbit, but the cultural shift around who space is for, and why. Flights like NS-31 prompt more than celebration or critique. They prompt questions about purpose, visibility, and value. The answers aren’t singular. But they’re becoming increasingly visible, with each new launch.
Sources:
Space: The $1.8 trillion opportunity for global economic growth by Mckinsey & Company, 2024
ULA Vs SpaceX – A Detailed Comparison In 2024 by Space Insider, 2024
Space Tourism by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., 2024
Who was the leading investor in space in Europe in 2023? by Inês Trindade Pereira, 2024
