‘Welcome back to Earth:’ Blue Origin sends a star-studded, all-female crew into space

Singer Katy Perry and journalist Gayle King are among the star-studded, all-female crew that made a quick trip into space on Monday morning, thanks to Jeff Bezos’ private rocket company.

The six passengers flew on Blue Origin’s New Shepard launch vehicle, which since 2021 has ferried dozens of scientists, entrepreneurs and celebrities above the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space, about 62 miles above Earth’s surface.

Monday’s mission, NS-31, had garnered considerable attention in recent weeks because of its famous passengers and historic nature.

It was the first all-female spaceflight since 1963, when Soviet-era cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova — the first woman in space — orbited the Earth during a nearly three-day solo flight.

Blue Origin’s flight was significantly shorter, lasting just over 10 minutes.

It took off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in West Texas at 9:30 a.m. EDT on Monday, after weeks of anticipation.

Hundreds of thousands of people tuned into Blue Origin’s online livestream to watch the journey from launch to landing, as passengers’ loved ones — many of them celebrities in their own right, such as Oprah Winfrey — watched in person.

Here’s what else to know about the flight.

Who was aboard?

The fully autonomous vehicle had no pilots, and six crew members:

• Lauren Sánchez, a journalist, author, pilot and philanthropist who also happens to be Bezos’ fiancé. She is credited with putting the team together and working with the brand Monse to redesign the women’s space suits.
• Aisha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist and STEM advocate who Blue Origin says will be the first person of Bahamian descent to visit space. It says she will carry postcards from students and conduct three research experiments on board, including on plant biology and human physiology. 
• Amanda Nguyễn, a bioastronautics research scientist and civil rights activist whose advocacy for sexual violence survivors saw her awarded TIME’s Woman of the Year and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Blue Origin says she will be the first Vietnamese and Southeast Asian woman astronaut, calling her flight “a symbol of reconciliation between the United States and Vietnam.” 
• Gayle King, the prominent broadcast journalist who cohosts CBS News’ flagship program, CBS Mornings, and is the editor-at-large of Oprah Daily. She said when the flight was announced in February: “I don’t know how to explain being terrified and excited at the same time. It’s like how I felt about to deliver a baby.” 
• Katy Perry, the pop star whose lengthy catalogue includes a few songs that reference aliens and shooting across the sky. Perry told Elle earlier this month that her tailor-made space playlist — titled “the Space Sistas” — includes Nicki Minaj’s “Starships,” “Starman” by David Bowie, “Around the World” by Daft Punk and her own “E.T.” 
• Kerianne Flynn, a film producer and philanthropist who told Elle she’s dreamed of going to space ever since she was a kid in small-town Michigan, stargazing with her grandfather. 

What kind of rocket is it? 

Blue Origin calls New Shepard its “fully reusable, suborbital rocket system built for human flight from the beginning.” It is named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

The rocket’s pressurized capsule — “environmentally controlled for comfort” — fits six people, each with their own window seat.

The capsule separates from the booster on the way back, undergoing a period of freefall before landing with the aid of three parachutes.

According to Blue Origin, after the rocket reaches space, its engine restarts to slow the booster down to a speed of just 6 miles per hour for a “controlled pinpoint landing on the pad.”

How much do flights cost? 

Blue Origin hasn’t publicly confirmed the price of a ticket, but its reservation page requires a $150,000 deposit to begin the process.

The company auctioned off a seat on its first crewed flight for $28 million in 2021.

Some celebrities have flown for free as “honored guests,” as was the case for TV host Michael Strahan, Alan Shepard’s daughter Laura Shepard Churchley and actor William Shatner.

How many flights has Blue Origin done? 

NS-31 is the New Shepard’s 11th human flight, according to Blue Origin.

The New Shepard made its maiden space voyage in July 2021, carrying Bezos, his brother Mark, and the oldest and youngest people to ever fly into space at that time — 82-year-old pioneering female aviator Wally Funk and physics student Oliver Daemen, 18.

Blue Origin has been sending pioneers, prominent figures and paying customers into orbit ever since, completing its 30th overall mission to space in February.