Lauren Sanchez leads all-female Blue Origin flight with Katy Perry

From left, Lauren Sánchez, Katy Perry, Aisha Bowe, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King and Amanda Nguyễn were launched into space by Blue Origin on April 14. Photo / Blue Origin

• Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched Lauren Sanchez and an all-female crew, including Katy Perry and Gayle King, into space.
• The flight marked the first US spaceflight with an all-female crew, aiming to inspire future generations.
• Sanchez chose women for the flight to promote dreaming big and making space for the future.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched his fiancee Lauren Sanchez into space on Monday with an all-female celebrity crew that included Katy Perry and Gayle King.

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 from West Texas. The fringes of space beckoned 107km up and provided a few precious minutes of weightlessness.

Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, invited the others along for the 10-minute, fully automated flight, packing on the star power with singer-songwriter Perry and CBS Mornings co-host King. Moved by the views of Earth below, Perry said she couldn’t resist singing What a Wonderful World in space.

Cost undisclosed

Also sharing the ride were film producer Kerianne Flynn; Aisha Bowe, a former Nasa engineer who started her own companies to promote science education; and Amanda Nguyen, a scientist who studied planets around other stars and now advocates for survivors of sexual violence.

Blue Origin declined to say how much the flight cost or who paid what. The trip came two months before Sanchez and Bezos marry in Venice.

It was the 11th human spaceflight for the Washington state-based company, founded by Bezos in 2000 after making a fortune with Amazon. Bezos strapped in for Blue Origin’s first space tourist flight in 2021 and accompanied the latest crew to the pad.

The celebrity launch was the nation’s first spaceflight where women filled each seat. The only other all-female crew in 64 years of human spaceflight was in 1963 when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova launched by herself, becoming the first woman in space. Tereshkova spent three days off the planet.

Even after the latest launch, women represent barely 15% of the more than 700 people who have travelled into space. Sanchez said she deliberately chose women to launch with her, each of them eager to inspire both the young and old to dream big, and even commissioned special flight suits.

VIP magnet

The launch brought VIPs to West Texas including Oprah Winfrey; Kris Jenner and other members of the Kardashian family; former Nasa astronaut Mae Jemison, who became the first black woman in space in 1992; and several women who previously have flown on private flights. Winfrey, a close friend of King, wiped away tears when the capsule reached space and the passengers were heard marvelling at the moon and shouting with joy.

As the women were buckling up for the ride back, Perry broke into song. Despite urging by her crewmates, she resisted singing Roar or her other tunes and instead chose What a Wonderful World.

“It’s not about me. It’s not about singing my songs,” Perry said following the flight. “It’s about a collective energy in there. It’s about us.”

At a news conference later, she stressed, “We weren’t just taking up space. We were making space for the future.”

Bezos opened the capsule’s hatch minutes after touchdown, embracing Sanchez, the first one out. As they emerged, Perry and King kneeled and kissed the ground. “Oh my God, that was amazing,” said King, who considers herself an anxious airplane flyer.

‘Profound’

Three hours later, Sanchez said she was still trying to process everything. “Profound is like the one word I would use,” she said.

This wasn’t the first Blue Origin launch with marquee names.

Star Trek actor William Shatner caught a lift to space with Blue Origin in 2021 at age 90, soon after Bezos’ inaugural trip. He was followed by former New York Giants defensive end and TV host Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, for whom the rocket is named. Two aviation pioneers who missed out on space when they were younger – Wally Funk and Ed Dwight – also rocketed away at ages 82 and 90, respectively.

Most of Blue Origin’s passengers – 58 counting the latest launch – have been business or science types, TV hosts or YouTubers. Ticket prices are not disclosed.

The Russian Space Agency has also launched its share of space tourists, beginning with a California financier in 2001. Two decades later, a Russian actress filmed aboard the International Space Station.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX also sells multi-day trips to private customers. SpaceX’s first client to fly, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman already has launched twice and performed the first private spacewalk. He’s now set to become Nasa’s next administrator if confirmed by the Senate.

Chinese-born bitcoin investor Chun Wang just returned from the first spaceflight to carry people over the north and south poles. Wang picked up the whole SpaceX tab for himself and three polar explorers for an undisclosed sum.

“In this exciting new era of commercial spaceflight, the dream of becoming an astronaut is no longer limited to a select few,” Wang said via X last week.