Pop star Katy Perry, Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez and CBS Morning co-anchor Gayle King had the right stuff Monday as they flew to the edge of space and back on a Blue Origin flight.
Amazon founder Bezos’ Blue Origin spaceflight carried six women on board, including film producer Kerianne Flynn, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and research scientist Amanda Nguyen. The New Shepard rocket and capsule roared off the pad at 9:31 a.m local time from Blue Origin’s launch site in Van Horn, Texas.
The all-women crewed expedition took flight for around 10 minutes and reached above the Kármán line, at an altitude of 62 miles, at Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound. Back at the launch pad, Bezos and a host of celebrities, including an emotionally overcome Oprah Winfrey watching her best friend King soar into space, craned their heads to look at the spaceflight high above.
Audio from inside the spacecraft captured the six women cheering and shouting as they soared above the Earth. “Look at the moon!” one unidentified voice was heard to say.
After the capsule and the rocket separated and the astronauts unbuckled to experience weightlessness in space for a couple minutes, the six women and their capsule returned to earth and landed under parachutes in the Texas desert at 9:42 am.
“Congratulations and welcome back to Earth,” the Blue Origin mission control told the crew. Once back and out of the capsule, both Perry and King kneeled to kiss the earth before reaching out to friends and family.
Just before takeoff, Winfrey told interviewer Charissa Thompson as part the Blue Origin live stream how excited she was for King, who had overcome her fear of flying to soar into space.
“I think life is about continuing to grow into the best of yourself and the fullest expression of yourself, and I think that this is one of the most fullest expressions you can possibly have… I wish I had gone, you know. And I said, there’s only one time that going up for the first time. You know, there will be other trips, but there’s only one first time. So to be a pioneer, it’s great,” Winfrey said.
Once back on earth, King recounted the peace she felt in space, especially after conquering her fear of flight. “I’m so proud of me right now. I just can’t believe it,” she told Thompson during a post-flight interview.
Kris Jenner also reacted after the flight and its successful landing. “I don’t think you think you would be that emotional, but it’s, it’s incredible. It takes your breath away. I feel like I have all this adrenaline, and I’m just standing here,” she told the Blue Origin livestream.
Once back from the flight, pop star Perry said the experience of flying in space came only second to being a mother. “I feel super-connected to love. So connected to love. I think this experience has shown me you never known how much love you have to give and how loved you are, until the day you launch,” she told the Blue Origin webcast.
Perry added she will write a song to commemorate her spaceflight, and recalled in space singing “It’s a Wonderful World” rather than one of her own songs to her fellow lady astronauts. “That is not about me. It’s not about singing my songs. It’s about a collective energy and a mirror. It’s about us. It’s about making space for future women and taking up space and belonging,” she said.
The Blue Origin flight was the company’s 11th human flight and 31st flight overall.
