Washington (AFP) – Pop star Katy Perry completed a brief foray into space Monday, roaring to the edge of the cosmos with an all-women crew on one of billionaire Jeff Bezos’s rockets. The “Firework” and “California Gurls” singer was lofted more than 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the Earth’s surface in a vessel from Blue Origin, the space company owned by the Amazon founder. Five other women — including Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sanchez — were on the flight, which took off from western Texas shortly after 8:30 am (1330 GMT) before safely landing again some 10 minutes later.
The flight brought the passengers beyond the Karman line — the internationally recognized boundary of space. One of the other passengers, TV presenter Gayle King, said Perry sang “What a Wonderful World” in space. “It’s a 10 out of 10. That’s my review. Definitely go for it,” the singer said after she was safely back on Earth. Their fully automated craft rose vertically before the crew capsule detached mid-flight, later falling back to the ground slowed by parachutes and a retro rocket. The jubilant women then emerged, with Perry kissing the ground after exiting the capsule.
“I think this experience has shown me you never know how much love is inside of you, like how much love you have to give and how loved you are until the day you launch,” she said. Monday’s mission was the first all-woman space crew since Valentina Tereshkova’s historic solo flight in 1963. It is also the 11th sub-orbital crewed operation by Blue Origin, which has offered space tourism experiences for several years. The company does not publicly communicate the price of trips made possible by its New Shepard rocket.
They were expected to have a brief period when the women could unbuckle from their seats and float in zero gravity.
Perry, launched onto the international stage with her 2008 hit “I Kissed a Girl,” was also traveling alongside Sanchez, King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, former NASA scientist Aisha Bowe, and Amanda Nguyen, founder of a campaign group against sexual violence. They follow 52 previous Blue Origin passengers, including longtime “Star Trek” leading man William Shatner.
King’s close friend — talk show legend Oprah Winfrey — was among those watching the launch in Texas. “It’s oddly quiet when you get up there…you look down at the planet and think, ‘That’s where we came from?’ And to me it’s such a reminder about how we need to do better and be better,” King said.
Perry recently told Elle magazine that she was taking part “for my daughter Daisy,” whom she shares with actor Orlando Bloom, “to inspire her to never have limits on her dreams.” Such high-profile guests are intended to keep public interest in Blue Origin’s work, as it battles multiple rival firms in the space tourism field. Bezos’ top challenger in passenger flights is Virgin Galactic, which offers a similar sub-orbital experience.
But Blue Origin aims in the future to bring space tourists into orbit, competing directly with Elon Musk’s SpaceX. In January, Blue Origin’s much more powerful New Glenn rocket successfully completed its first unmanned orbital mission.
© 2024 AFP
