In a historic moment for space travel and gender representation, singer Katy Perry was part of an all-female crew that launched into space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket on Monday. This marked the first time in over six decades that an all-women team undertook a spaceflight, with the previous being Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo mission in 1963.
The rocket lifted off from a launch site in West Texas at 9:31 am ET (7:01 pm IST) and reached the edge of space, allowing the crew a few minutes of weightlessness before descending back to Earth in a flight that lasted approximately 11 minutes. Blue Origin, founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, streamed the event live, showcasing a major success for its space tourism initiative.
Joining Katy Perry on the mission were Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sanchez, media icon Gayle King, former NASA engineer Aisha Bowe, human rights advocate Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn. The crew shared emotional moments during and after the journey. Gayle King recounted how Perry sang Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” after the brief experience of floating in space.
Perry, visibly moved post-landing, held a daisy flower in tribute to her daughter, Daisy, calling it a symbol of strength and resilience. “They grow through anything,” she said, referring to the flower. “They’re powerful, just like women.” The mission was hailed as a landmark achievement for inclusivity in space exploration and a symbolic leap forward for female empowerment.
