Katy Perry joins an all-female crew aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, marking a historic spaceflight and celebrating women in space tourism.
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| Katy Perry joins five women on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket for an 11-minute spaceflight, marking a milestone in space tourism and women’s achievements in space. Image: CH |
West Texas, USA – April 14, 2025:
Pop icon Katy Perry is about to make history by becoming part of the first-ever all-female crew to embark on a spaceflight aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. The mission, set to launch from Blue Origin’s West Texas facility, will feature Perry alongside five other influential women: Lauren Sánchez, fiancée of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, CBS anchor Gayle King, NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights advocate Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
Scheduled to lift off at 08:30 local time (14:30 BST), the flight will last around 11 minutes, carrying the crew more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) above Earth. This will cross the internationally recognized Kármán line, which marks the boundary of space, giving the crew a brief but exciting experience of weightlessness.
In a social media post, Katy Perry shared her excitement, saying, “If you had told me that I would be part of the first-ever all-female crew in space, I would have believed you. Nothing was beyond my imagination as a child. Although we didn't grow up with much, I never stopped looking at the world with hopeful WONDER!”
Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket is fully autonomous, meaning no pilot will be needed, and the crew will not manually operate the spacecraft. After completing the mission, the capsule will perform a parachute-assisted soft landing, while the rocket booster will return to Earth autonomously, landing vertically around two miles from the launch site.
The flight marks a significant moment for women in space, as Blue Origin pointed out that the last all-female spaceflight occurred more than 60 years ago, when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to fly solo into space aboard Vostok 6. Since then, women have contributed greatly to space exploration, but this marks the first all-female crew to undertake a space mission in recent history.
Blue Origin, a private space company founded by Jeff Bezos, is working to reduce the costs of space travel by developing reusable rockets. Though the exact price of tickets for the suborbital flights has not been disclosed, a $150,000 deposit is required to secure a seat, highlighting the exclusivity of these early missions.
While the rise of space tourism has sparked debate over its environmental impact and accessibility, supporters argue that commercial space ventures like Blue Origin are helping to drive innovation and make space exploration more accessible. Prominent voices like Professor Brian Cox have supported this view, advocating for collaboration between NASA and private companies as essential to expanding humanity’s reach beyond Earth.
However, the high costs of space tourism remain a sticking point. Critics, including actress Olivia Munn, have questioned the optics of luxury spaceflights while many people on Earth struggle with basic necessities. Tim Peake, a British astronaut, has defended the value of human space exploration, particularly in addressing critical global issues like climate change.
Despite the controversies, this spaceflight represents a historic achievement, not only in space exploration but in highlighting the growing role of women in the field. As Katy Perry and her fellow crew members prepare for liftoff, their mission serves as a symbol of empowerment, pushing the boundaries of both space travel and women’s representation in this pioneering industry.