Ms. Danna Karagusova, a 43-year-old entrepreneur from Kazakhstan, is set to become the first woman from Central Asia to travel into space, according to Blue Origin, the American aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos.

The company has not disclosed the ticket price for the suborbital flight, but reports suggest that the deposit for reserving a seat was $150,000, while the full cost of the journey may range from $500,000 to $1 million.

Kazakhstan’s zakon.kz says the upcoming flight will last 10–12 minutes and will reach an altitude of 100 kilometers — the internationally recognized boundary of space.\Karagusova will join five other passengers on the suborbital journey: Jeff Elgin, entrepreneur; Clint Kelly III, engineer; Aaron Newman, serial startup founder; Vitaliy Ostrovsky, Ukrainian businessman; and one unnamed participant who chose to remain anonymous.

Who is Danna Karagusova?

Karagusova is a well-known businesswoman and innovator from Almaty, recognized for her influence in marketing, media, and digital technologies.  She first gained prominence as the founder of the First Media Group (FMG), a major marketing and communications holding in Kazakhstan.  She led the company until 2018, when ownership and management were transferred to new leadership.

According to zakon.kz, Danna Karagusova has more than 25 years of experience in media and event management.  She founded a company developing digital tools that merge art and science. An experienced mountaineer, she has climbed Kilimanjaro and Elbrus and views space as humanity’s next evolutionary frontier.

In recent years, Karagusova has focused on a new venture called Portals, described by Blue Origin as a “multimodal ecosystem for business.”  The project creates interactive installations that link public spaces in different cities via real-time video connections.

A prominent family background

Karagusova comes from a family well known in Kazakhstan’s political and business circles.  Her mother, Gulzhana Karagusova, is a former Minister of Labor and Social Protection and Senate (KAzakhstan’s upper chamber of parliament) member.

Her brother, Farkhad Karagusov, serves as Managing Director for Legal Affairs and Deputy Chairman of the Board at Sky Bridge Capital, as well as a board member of the Central Securities Depository.

Another brother, Roman Romanov, is a former CEO of JSC Aluminium of Kazakhstan and a member of the Pavlodar regional assembly.

Personal life

Danna Karagusova is active on Instagram, where she shares insights into her professional and personal life. She was previously married to blogger Beibit Alibekov, with whom she has three children.