Singer Katy Perry has returned to Earth after a trip to space on Monday. She flew on a Blue Origin rocket with an all-female crew. The trip was part of Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission.
The crew was in space for about four minutes and reached an altitude of over 100 kilometers. This height is known as the Karman line, the internationally recognized boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
An Emotional Experience
Katy Perry described the experience as “emotional.” She said it was her second most life-changing experience after becoming a mother. Perry even sang “What a Wonderful World” during the flight. When she stepped out of the capsule, she kissed the ground.
The crew included Lauren Sanchez, a TV presenter and Jeff Bezos’ fiancée; Good Morning America host Gayle King; human rights activist and engineer, Cady Coleman was replaced with Amanda Nguyen; filmmaker Katya Echazarreta was replaced with Kerianne Flynn; and Aisha Bowe, a former NASA engineer.
A Historic Flight
This was the first time an all-female crew flew on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. The crew members were:
- Katy Perry
- Lauren Sanchez
- Gayle King
- Amanda Nguyen
- Kerianne Flynn
- Aisha Bowe
Katy Perry took a daisy flower with her on the trip, which she kept with her throughout the flight. Before this, the last time a woman traveled to space without a man was in 1963 when Russian engineer Valentina Tereshkova made her historic solo spaceflight. Perry’s trip marks a new milestone in space tourism.
Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000. The New Shepard program is one of the company’s key projects, aiming to make space travel accessible to more people.