Katy Perry Joins First All-Female Space Crew In 60 Years On Blue Origin’s NS-31 Mission
On a historic day of space tourism, pop icon Katy Perry, with five other women, had a thrilling experience as part of Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission. They etched their names in history by becoming the first all-female crew in more than 60 years to venture into space. Besides Perry, the six-member group included Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ fiance Lauren Sanchez, CBS anchor Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, scientist-cum-activist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
It was the 11th human spaceflight by Blue Origin, which took off from West Texas at around 8:30 AM local time on Monday, April 14 and travelled to the edge of space. The women “experienced weightlessness” for 10 minutes before returning to Earth safely aboard a sub-orbital flight.
The rocket, a fully automated New Shepard Capsule, reached an altitude of over 100 kilometres, surpassing the Karman line. It reportedly travelled at speeds over three times the speed of sound.
“I’ve always been interested in the stars. We’re all made of stardust,” Perry said ahead of the take-off while claiming that she learned more about astrophysics and went through the works of Carl Sagan to prepare herself for the mission.
“You’re brave, you’re bold… No limitations. Being a mother just makes you level up with that type of power,” the 40-year-old singer, known for cosmic-themed songs like Firework and E.T., added. She also brought a daisy to space as a tribute to her four-year-old daughter, Daisy, who watched her mother soaring into the sky with a bright smile on her face.
“This experience is second to being a mom. That’s why it was hard for me to go because that’s all my love right there, and I have to surrender and trust that the universe is going to take care of me and protect me and also my family and daughter, ” Parry said upon landing on the Earth’s surface.
Blue Origin considers the mission to be a significant milestone for women in space exploration. Since human spaceflight came into existence, just one more all-female flight has embarked on the limitless journey in 64 years. The mission occurred in 1963, with Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova flying solo.
