WASHINGTON — Pop icon Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King and Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sanchez headed to space Monday morning as part of an all-female space crew.
The crew took off on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket for a 10-minute spaceflight from West Texas. It was Blue Origin’s 11th human flight.
It was the latest wave in space tourism, where more of the rich and famous than ever before — or lucky and well-connected — can enter the zero-gravity realm traditionally dominated by professional astronauts.
The New Shepard rocket blasted off on the quick up-and-down trip. The fringes of space beckoned some 65 miles up, promising a few precious minutes of weightlessness.
What time was the Blue Origin launch?
The New Shepard rocket launched at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time, at the start of the morning’s launch window and landed about 10-minutes and 20 seconds later in the desert.
The spaceflight, named NS-31, lifted off from Launch Site One in West Texas.
Who is Lauren Sanchez?
Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, is the fiancée of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. She was the one who picked the all-female crew. Perry, Sanchez and King will be joined by Aisha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist who now heads an engineering firm, research scientist Amanda Nguyen and movie producer Kerianne Flynn.
Where is the Blue Origin launch site?
Blue Origin has flown tourists on short hops to space since 2021, after Bezos climbed aboard with his brother for the inaugural trip; the upcoming trip will be the company’s 11th human spaceflight. Some passengers have received free rides, while others have paid a hefty sum to experience weightlessness. The company declined to comment on who is footing the bill for Monday’s flight.
Blue Origin’s primary launch facility is Launch Site One in West Texas.
The news of the trip had not been without critiques, most recently from actor Olivia Munn, who bemoaned the mission’s cost and publicity. But Perry believed the all-women crew — the first since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo spaceflight in 1963 — has historic ramifications. Only 14% of people who have gone to space so far have been women.
Welcome to West Texas, NS-31 crew! pic.twitter.com/8dFPqiaiZW
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 13, 2025
The Associated Press contributed to this report.