Katy Perry, Gayle King return after Blue Origin space trip

A Blue Origin rocket sent pop star Katy Perry and company founder Jeff Bezos’ fiancee Lauren Sánchez on a trip to the edge of space and back, the first time an all-female crew went to space in more than 60 years.

The flight launched at 9:31 a.m. New York time from West Texas on a roughly 11-minute trip for a quick experience of weightlessness. The other members on board were CBS’s Gayle King, producer Kerianne Flynn, former NASA scientist Aisha Bowe, and Amanda Nguyen, a scientist and advocate for survivors of sexual violence.

After they reached space, the astronauts could be heard speaking from inside the rocket, with one of them saying, “You guys, look at the moon! Oh my god!” At one point, Perry sang “What a Wonderful World” as the crew looked down at the Earth, King told a Blue Origin interviewer after the mission.

After about four minutes of weightlessness, the capsule fell back to Earth under parachutes and landed as expected in the Texas desert. As Bezos opened the capsule’s hatch, cheering could be heard from the astronauts and spectators outside. He embraced Sánchez after she walked out, followed by Perry, who fell to her knees and kissed the ground.

“I feel super connected to love,” Perry said afterward, holding a daisy she brought with her to space. “It is the highest high, it is surrender to the unknown.”

Asked how flying to space compares to selling out stadiums and other landmark moments in her life, the musician said, “This experience is second to being a mom.”

Sánchez first announced plans to fly to space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket with an entirely female crew in 2023, when speaking with Vogue. At the time, she said her fellow passengers were all remarkable and “paving the way for women.”

Before liftoff, Bezos could be seen at the launch site in a blue flight suit among the passengers, giving Sánchez a kiss before she boarded the capsule.

Among the spectators was Kris Jenner and Khloe Kardashian, who called the flight “very inspirational” and advised the astronauts to be “as present as possible.” Oprah Winfrey, a close friend of King, was also on the launch site, saying at one point “none of us will ever forget this day.”

Other celebrities have also taken the suborbital joyride, including Bezos himself in July 2021, actor William Shatner - who was 90 years old at the time - in October 2021 and Good Morning America co-host Michael Strahan in December 2021.

Blue Origin’s space tourism model - and the customers who pay for it - have come under scrutiny recently from actress Olivia Munn, who called the experience “a bit gluttonous” at a time of economic hardship for many Americans.

While Blue Origin does not disclose its price for a seat on one of its tourism flights, rival space tourism company Virgin Galactic charges around $600,000 for a similar experience.

The company’s 11th human spaceflight comes after Blue Origin successfully completed a trip to orbit on its newer heavy-lift rocket New Glenn in January and subsequently trimmed about 10% of its workforce in the following weeks.

Following the layoffs, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said that the company is looking to the future, including landing an uncrewed vehicle on the moon in 2025 and increasing the cadence of New Glenn and New Shepard launches.