Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin launched a crew of female celebrities into space on Monday, which included Katy Perry, Gayle King, and Lauren Sanchez, the girlfriend of the Amazon magnate.
It was the latest wave in space tourism, where the richest and most famous than ever can enter the realm of zero gravity traditionally dominated by professional astronauts.
How was the short flight of the female celebrities?
The New Shepard rocket took off on a quick round trip from West Texas. It took them to about 105 kilometers (65 miles) in altitude, providing precious minutes of weightlessness.
Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former television journalist, invited the others for a 10-minute flight, completely automated, adding star power with singer Katy Perry and Gayle King, co-host of “CBS Mornings”.
Also on the trip were film producer Kerianne Flynn; Aisha Bowe, a former NASA engineer who founded her own companies to promote science education; and Amanda Nguyen, a scientist who studied planets around other stars and now advocates for survivors of sexual violence.
According to Gayle King, Perry sang the famous song “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. As she exited the capsule, the singer pointed to the sky and kissed the ground.
Blue Origin refused to say how much the flight cost or who paid for what. The trip took place two months before Sanchez and Bezos got married in Venice.
It was the 11th human spaceflight for the company based in the state of Washington, founded by Bezos in 2000 after making a fortune with Amazon.
The celebrity launch was the country’s first spaceflight where women occupied every seat. The only other all-female crew in 64 years of human spaceflights was in 1963. It was then that Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was launched alone, becoming the first woman in space. Tereshkova spent three days off the planet.
The launch attracted VIPs to West Texas, including Oprah Winfrey and several women who had previously flown on private flights. Winfrey, a close friend of King, wiped away tears as the capsule reached space and passengers were heard marveling at the Moon and shouting with joy.
How many celebrity flights has Blue Origin completed?
This was not Blue Origin’s first launch with prominent names.
The “Star Trek” actor William Shatner traveled to space with Blue Origin in 2021 at the age of 90, shortly after Jeff Bezos' inaugural flight. They were followed by former New York Giants defensive end and television host Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, for whom the rocket is named.
Most of Blue Origin’s passengers—58 counting the latest launch—have been business people or scientists, television presenters, or YouTubers.
The Russian Space Agency has also launched its share of space tourists, starting with a Californian financier in 2001. Two decades later, a Russian actress filmed aboard the International Space Station.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX also sells multi-day trips to private customers. The first SpaceX customer to fly, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, has already completed the trip twice and conducted the first private spacewalk. He is now ready to become the next NASA administrator if confirmed by the Senate.
Bitcoin investor Chun Wang from China has just returned from the first space flight that took people over the North and South Poles. Wang paid the entire bill for SpaceX for him and three polar explorers for an undisclosed amount.