TouchdownFor Blue Origin's Female Crew

UPDATE 9:55 AM: Katy Perry, Gayle King, and Lauren Sánchez, philanthropist and Jeff Bezos’ fiancée, made history alongside three other female astronauts on Monday, launching into space aboard a Blue Origin rocket. This mission, the first all-female spaceflight since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo trip in 1963, marked a milestone in space exploration.

REPLAY: A New Shepard tradition pic.twitter.com/dSexRmoZl7

— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 14, 2025

The flight lasted approximately 10 minutes and 30 seconds, with the crew’s cheers and reactions to seeing the moon audible on the live stream, which had 305,000 viewers before glitching around the five-minute mark. Despite earlier hints, Perry did not sing during the mission.

Earlier Story..

UPDATE 9:40 AM: Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket took off Monday morning with it’s star-studded, glammed-up, all-female crew, including singer Katy Perry, Jeff Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sanchez, and CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King.

The New Shepard 31 soared through the Texas sky with the three celebrities and crew mates Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe, and Kerianne Flynn, who will enjoy around 11 minutes in outer space before returning to earth as part of the historic space tourism flight.

Earlier Story...

Six women are scheduled to embark on Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission, the first all-female spaceflight since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo trip in 1963.

Launch Site One is located in West Texas and i scheduled for lift-off at 9:30 a.m. EDT. The crew of six—Katy Perry, Lauren Sánchez, CBS Morning News host Gayle King, Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, and Kerianne Flynn—marked the first all-women spaceflight since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo mission in 1963. The 11-minute suborbital flight aboard the reusable New Shepard rocket crossed the Kármán line (62 miles above Earth), allowing the crew to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and view Earth’s curvature.

Katy Perry, Jeff Bezos' fiancee Lauren Sanchez & all female crew are headed to space on the Blue Origin rocket — for 11 minutes

Dubbed first all-female flight to space — but that was set in 1963 by Russia's Tereshkova

Launch is 9.30am Monday, West Texas pic.twitter.com/FiDhDoVjp8

— RT (@RT_com) April 13, 2025

Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’s aerospace venture, revealed plans for the flight in February. While the all-women crew has garnered significant buzz, the mission builds on Tereshkova’s historic precedent. Nguyen will make history as the first Vietnamese American woman in space.

“I feel deeply honored to join this remarkable group of women,” Perry shared with The Associated Press last week, echoing the crew’s enthusiasm. The 11-minute suborbital ride aboard the New Shepard capsule will offer brief weightlessness and Earth views.

Despite the excitement, critics like actress Olivia Munn have called the private mission excessive amid terrestrial challenges, sparking debate over its value.