HOUSTON (Diya TV) — Pop superstar Katy Perry and five other accomplished women made history on Monday, launching into space aboard a Blue Origin rocket in the first all-female spaceflight in over 60 years.
The crew lifted off at 8:30 a.m. local time from Blue Origin’s West Texas launch site aboard the fully autonomous New Shepard rocket. The 11-minute suborbital journey took the capsule more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) above Earth, past the internationally recognized Kármán line that marks the boundary of space. The spacecraft then returned safely to Earth with a parachute-assisted soft landing.
Joining Perry on the groundbreaking mission were Lauren Sánchez, fiancée of Amazon founder and Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos; CBS News host Gayle King; former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe; civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen; and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
“This was a feeling of joy. A feeling of gratefulness,” Sánchez said through tears after stepping out of the capsule. “I looked out of the window and we got to see the moon. Earth looked so quiet… but alive.”
Perry, visibly moved, kissed the ground and raised a daisy skyward in a nod to her daughter, Daisy, whom she shares with actor Orlando Bloom. Speaking to Elle magazine ahead of the launch, Perry said, “I’m doing this for my daughter—to inspire her to never have limits on her dreams.” Gayle King also knelt to kiss the Texas soil, saying she simply wanted “a moment with the ground.”
The historic spaceflight marked the first all-female mission since 1963, when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space aboard Vostok 6. While many women have since contributed significantly to space exploration, an all-women crew has not flown together until now.
The New Shepard rocket, named after astronaut Alan Shepard, is designed to be fully reusable. The booster returned to the launch site vertically, minimizing environmental impact and costs. According to Blue Origin, the only emission from the rocket’s BE-3 engine is water vapor. However, scientists like Dr. Eloise Marais of University College London have noted that water vapor in the upper atmosphere can still pose environmental risks by altering stratospheric chemistry and affecting climate.
Though the rocket is automated and requires no pilot, all passengers underwent two days of intensive training that included emergency protocols, physical fitness tests, and safety procedures for zero gravity, according to Blue Origin.
The mission, officially designated NS-31, is the 11th human flight for Blue Origin, which is working to expand its space tourism program and develop long-term infrastructure such as reusable rockets and lunar landers. A celebrity-studded crowd, including Khloé Kardashian, gathered to witness the launch. “I didn’t realize how emotional it would be,” Kardashian told reporters. “I have all this adrenaline and I’m just standing here.”
Yet not everyone celebrated the moment. Actress Olivia Munn voiced criticism on Today with Jenna & Friends, noting the growing gap between elite space tourism and everyday struggles. “There are a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs,” she said.
Astronaut Tim Peake defended such missions, telling the BBC that space exploration is crucial for scientific advancement and tackling global issues like climate change. Despite mixed reactions, Perry summed up the spirit of the mission in a social media post: “Although we didn’t grow up with much, I never stopped looking at the world with hopeful WONDER!”
