Karsen Kitchen, a 21-year-old college student, became the youngest woman to ever cross the Kármán line yesterday (August 29), which is the internationally recognized boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
The boundary is named after American-Hungarian physicist Theodore von Kármán and is located 100 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
Student Karsen Kitchen.
The aerospace company Blue Origin, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, launched Karsen Kitchen along with five other explorers to the edge of space and back on August 29. This was Blue Origin’s eighth crewed flight, as the company works to establish a space tourism service.
Karsen Kitchen is currently a senior at the University of North Carolina (USA). Sharing about her journey to realize her dream of going to space, Karsen Kitchen expressed her desire to inspire many young women who may hesitate to pursue their astronaut dreams and explore the universe.
“I still remember as a child, looking up at the night sky, gazing at the moon and stars, and saying: I want to be an astronaut. I feel so grateful for everything I have, and even now, I still feel like I’m dreaming,” Karsen Kitchen said.
The New Shepard rocket launched from its pad near Van Horn, Texas, at 8 AM local time on August 29.
After separating from the rocket’s booster, the spacecraft flew beyond the Kármán line, allowing passengers to admire the curvature of the Earth and unbuckle their seatbelts to experience weightlessness for a few minutes. Following this, the spacecraft returned to the atmosphere, deploying parachutes to land in the desert near the launch site. The total flight duration is typically about 10 to 11 minutes.
Blue Origin has not publicly disclosed ticket prices; however, reports suggest that prices may vary significantly based on individual selection, their net worth, and the social prestige they bring to the company.
For instance, during a charity auction in 2021, a seat on a Blue Origin flight sold for $28 million. Meanwhile, notable guests like actor William Shatner (from the science fiction series Star Trek) have flown with Blue Origin for free. Others have reported paying hundreds of thousands of dollars.
