Karsen Kitchen makes space history

“Sorry I can’t make it to class this week. I’m going into space.”

That’s the message Karsen Kitchen ‘25 struggled to deliver convincingly to her professors one week into the fall semester.

“A lot of them thought I was lying,” Kitchen said. “I mean, I would, too.”

What sounded like a far-fetched fib was actually a historic truth.

Kitchen, a 21-year-old senior majoring in communication studies and minoring in astronomy, became the youngest woman ever to cross the Kármán line — the point considered by many where outer space begins — on Aug. 29 as one of the six members of Blue Origin’s NS-26 spaceflight mission.

The distinction is one she’s proud of, even if the experience still seems unbelievable at times.

(Photos courtesy of Blue Origin)

The trip lasted just over 10 minutes but was a lifetime in the making for Kitchen, who has always been fascinated by astronomy — from when she was a young girl to when she published an independent study in high school on the possible colonization of Mars.

“I’m going to confidently state the fact that I love space more than anyone in the entire world,” she said. “There was a time, though, when I was on that rocket that I was like, ‘Am I doing this? Is this actually happening to me?’”

Although the desire was always there, Kitchen never expected she’d have the opportunity to go to space, despite a family connection to Blue Origin.

Jim Kitchen, her father and a professor of the practice at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, went to space as part of a Blue Origin mission in 2022. She tagged along on the trip — until liftoff — and used it as an opportunity to network and learn about different careers in astronomy. She even make a pitch for joining a future mission.

“If you ever have the opportunity or want to send a young woman to space, please give me a call,” she remembered saying.

Later in 2022 she got that call. She didn’t know when exactly, but she was space-bound. She completed zero-gravity trainings on her own before undergoing extensive training in the days before her mission, all while being sworn to secrecy by a nondisclosure agreement. “I felt like I was in ‘Oceans 11.’ That took everything in me not to tell people I was going to space,” she said.

Meanwhile, she embraced her studies at Carolina, especially astronomy. Kitchen conducted radio astronomy research at the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia and worked at Morehead Planetarium and Science Center. She also founded Orbitelle, an initiative that encourages women to pursue careers in the space industry.

(Photo courtesy of Blue Origin)

When Kitchen learned in late July that her time would come in August, she experienced a complex mix of emotions. Joy and excitement took over once she was in the air. Looking out the window and seeing Earth from a rare vantage point was the best part of it all, she said.

“If they told me, ‘Hey, we’re going to send you to space tomorrow, and you’re never going to step back on the Earth,’ I would pack my bags,” Kitchen said.

There was, of course, a return trip. Kitchen has come back down to Earth literally, though maybe not figuratively.

“I’m still processing it all,” she said. “It feels incredible, and I’m filled with an immense sense of pride to represent such a dedicated, hardworking and imaginative group of young women.”