Pop star Katy Perry and five other women made history by embarking on a space journey aboard a Blue Origin rocket, marking the first all-female spaceflight in over six decades. The crew launched from West Texas at 9:31 a.m. ET (1331 GMT) and ventured to the edge of space, experiencing a brief period of weightlessness before safely returning to Earth in an approximately 11-minute flight. The milestone event was broadcast live by Blue Origin, the space company established by billionaire Jeff Bezos. This successful spaceflight serves as a significant achievement for Bezos’ New Shepard launch vehicle, specially designed for space tourism. In addition to Perry, the crew included Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sanchez, CBS host Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, scientist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn. Following their return to their seats post-weightlessness, Perry serenaded the crew with Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World.’ Upon landing back on Earth, Perry expressed, “I feel super connected to love,” while holding a daisy flower that accompanied her into space as a reminder of her daughter, Daisy. Reflecting on the symbolism of the daisy, Perry remarked on its resilience, strength, and power. This historic all-female spaceflight harkens back to Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s pioneering journey as the first woman in space, orbiting the Earth during a nearly three-day solo flight.
