Blue Origin was founded in 2000 by Sánchez’s fiancé, Jeff Bezos. The mission was announced in late February, just days before an unmanned rocket from the Elon Musk –owned competitor SpaceX experienced a “rapid unscheduled disassembly” during a test launch.

They were among the six women who made a 10-minute trip on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket, as the first all-female space crew in more than 60 years.