Katy Perry and Gayle King Prepare for Space Travel on Blue Origin's Initial All-Female Flight
frequent flyers Katy Perry, Gayle King, and Lauren Sánchez join an exclusive group of six women set to embark on an interstellar journey aboard a Blue Origin rocket. This space tourism venture will see these stellar ladies surpass the Kármán line, a distinction shared by mere 30 other souls before them, marking a significant milestone in the annals of space exploration [1].
The New Shepard program's 11th human flight and 31st overall, this mission promises an unforgettable experience for the lucky six. The mind-bending experience will cost them no less than a pretty penny - their ticket to the final frontier rings in at a cool $200,000 or more [2].
The crew comprises an impressive lineup that includes Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, Gayle King, the captivating Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn, and none other than Jeff Bezos' fiancée, Lauren Sánchez. A journalist and New York Times best-selling author, Sánchez is also a licensed pilot and the founder of Black Ops Aviation. Her role as vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund cements her status as an environmental crusader, adding an extra dash of intrigue to her intergalactic journey [1].
$200,000 for the experience, in which a rocket launches a capsule containing six people — with no pilot — into space for a few minutes of weightlessness. The capsule parachutes down 15 minutes later.
Preparations for this pioneering expedition are already underway. The mission will take off from Blue Origin's Launch Site One near Van Horn in the arid West Texas desert, although the specific launch date remains shrouded in mystery [1].
Jeff Bezos — the founder of Blue Origin — since 2023. Sánchez is a licensed pilot and founder of aerial filming company Black Ops Aviation and the vice chair of the Bezos Earth Fund.
This space odyssey will see these six trailblazers break new ground, following in the footsteps of Valentina Tereshkova – the first woman in space and a fellow Soviet cosmonaut who soared into legend during her solo mission, Vostok 6, on June 16, 1963. Tereshkova, now a spry 87 years old [2], will undoubtedly feel a wave of nostalgia as these intrepid women chase the cosmic dreams that first catapulted her into history [3].
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Blue Origin's burgeoning fleet is no one-trick pony. The New Shepard is primarily designed for space tourism, housing six passengers in its reusable capsule. So far, it has successfully ferried 52 passengers over the Kármán line, adding another feather to its already impressive cap. However, Bezos has set his sights higher with the New Glenn, an ambitious and reusable rocket that reached orbital velocity in its debut flight [2].
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Though the New Glenn failed in its bid to recover its booster during descent, Blue Origin remains hopeful that the craft can make waves in the competitive heavy-lift launch market, joining the likes of SpaceX [2]. The New Glenn is a formidable spacecraft, standing tall at 320 feet and boasting the power to carry substantial payloads into the great beyond. Its successful launch into orbit highlights Bezos' dream of offering reliable launch services to both commercial and governmental clients [2].
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As these lucky stargazers brave the unknown, may the cosmos smile upon their journey, and their minds remain as wide as the vast, untamed expanse they're about to conquer [2].
Sources:1. MSN2. Forbes3. BBC4. MarketWatch
successfully reached orbit on its inaugural flight on Jan. 16, 2025. It’s also a reusable rocket, though the attempt to recover the rocket’s first-stage booster failed after it was lost during descent.
Aisha Bowe and Katy Perry, both part of the Blue Origin mission, have prior experience in space-related fields. Bowe is an aerospace engineer and advocate for diverse representation in STEM, while Perry has expressed interest in space exploration and collaborated with NASA for a music video.
The preparations for the Blue Origin space tourism mission are being followed closely by the news media, with many outlets publishing articles about the event, including one entitled "Halfway_Hardwall_1: Inside Blue Origin's Spaceflight Preparations for Katy Perry in Space".
After the mission, Blue Origin plans to send a signup article for its newsletter to attendees, inviting them to stay updated on future space tourism opportunities and other Blue Origin projects. The article will likely include a setattribute command to tag the recipients as 'spaceflight_veterans'.