Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket made its 11th human spaceflight in April 2025 — and quickly dominated headlines — thanks to its all-female crew featuring Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyẽn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sánchez.
Allie Moodie, ’22, helped to engineer the star-studded crew capsule. As a manufacturing engineer at Blue Origin’s Seattle headquarters, Moodie had a direct hand in writing the instructions for the rocket build. Blue Origin recognized her and nine other female engineers by giving them the opportunity to witness the West Texas launch in person.
“It was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had,” Moodie said. “It was so amazing to see something from its start to its finish. I’ve also never had the opportunity to be able to actually see a launch in person before, so the fact that I got chosen to witness this launch and be a part of it was just unbelievable.”
Moodie graduated from UL Lafayette with a degree in mechanical engineering and served as the captain of the 2023 National Champion Water Ski Team. She said her time on the team prepared her for the professional world.
“Through water skiing, I had to learn a lot of perseverance and time management,” Moodie said. “It was actually something I spoke about a lot in my interview with Blue. I think being able to balance school and water skiing really prepared me for working long hours and putting in the time I need to see the results such as the launch.”
