21-year-old Karsen Kitchen’s journey serves as an inspiration to young women and aspiring astronauts around the world.
At 21 years old, Karsen Kitchen has made history as the youngest woman ever to travel to space. A senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kitchen Journeyed aboard a Blue Origin spacecraft, founded by Jeff Bezos. Alongside her were five other passengers, including a NASA-sponsored aerospace scientist. The six-member crew launched on a sub-orbital flight from a West Texas site at 9:07 am local time on August 29 and landed roughly 10 minutes later.
Karen’s journey into space fulfills her lifelong dream. She is the youngest woman to cross the Karman line, which is considered the boundary of outer space. A communications major with a minor in Astronomy, Karsen followed the footsteps of her father, Jim Kitchen, a UNC professor and avid space enthusiast.
Meet Karsen Kitchen, The Youngest Woman Makes Space History on Blue Origin’s Space Flight
Kitchen spoke about her surreal experience after she landed. Speaking to WRAL News, she said, “It’s this incredible fluorescent blue beating heart of the Earth… and to see our beautiful planet truly just changes your perspective on how lucky we are.” She shared that her life ‘changed’ when she saw the Earth from zero gravity.
Kitchen shared that going to space has been a dream of hers for years. “I have so many memories of going out side when I was younger, looking up at the night sky. I would come in and be like ‘Y’all, I want to be an astronaut.”
While Kitchen is the youngest woman to cross the Karman line, she isn’t the first in her family to achieve this milestone. Her father, Jim Kitchen, was a passenger on the New Shepard 20 flight in 2022. He was there to welcome her back to Earth after she achieved this historic moment on space. Together, they will always cherish the memories of their journeys beyond Earth’s atmosphere.