Blue Origin Successfully Completes Historic All-Female Space Mission

Pop star Katy Perry comes out of the capsule in which she, journalists Gayle King, Lauren Sanchez, who is also billionaire Jeff Bezos' fiance and other participants, landed back on earth after blasting off into space on a Blue Origin rocket, as part of the New Shepard Mission NS-31, marking the first all-female flight crew in more than six decades, in West Texas, Texas, U.S., April 14, 2025, in this screen grab taken from a video. Blue Origin/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Source: REUTERS

Blue Origin successfully completed its all-female space mission on Monday morning, which included notable crew members such as pop star Katy Perry and journalist Lauren Sanchez. The flight, lasting approximately 11 minutes, ascended to over 60 miles above Earth, surpassing the Kármán line, the recognized boundary of outer space. The crew further consisted of journalist Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics scientist Amanda Nguyen, and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn.

Upon returning, Katy Perry expressed her emotions by raising her hand skyward and kissing the ground. She shared that she brought a daisy into space to honor her daughter, saying, "I feel super-connected to love... this experience has shown me how much love is inside of me." During the flight, King noted that Perry sang "What a Wonderful World."

Oprah Winfrey attended the launch and was visibly emotional as she watched her friend Gayle King's capsule land. King, who has previously expressed apprehension about flying, remarked on the experience and paraphrased Eleanor Roosevelt's wisdom about courage, saying, "Courage is doing something that scares you, but you do it anyway."

In a subsequent news conference, Sanchez described the journey as "profound," highlighting the stunning views of Earth and the moon. King confronted the negative perceptions surrounding the flight, advocating for the term "journey" instead of "ride" and emphasizing its significance for inspiring young people. Perry supported this characterization, calling the experience "supernatural."

This mission marks a historic achievement as the first all-female spaceflight since 1963, following the solo mission of Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova. The crew departed their staging area at 8:00 a.m. CDT, greeted by enthusiastic friends and family, with the launch occurring shortly after at approximately 8:30 a.m. CDT. Perry had expressed a long-held dream of space travel the day before the mission, proudly stating on social media, "I've dreamt of going to space for 15 years and tomorrow that dream becomes a reality."

Lucía Aliaga