Blue Origin flight live updates: Katy Perry and star-studded crew return from brief space launch
The first all-female trip to space in more than six decades launched from West Texas on Monday morning
Katy Perry and five other women successfully launched into space on Monday on the first all-female mission in more than six decades.
The crew lifted off on board an autonomous rocket made by Blue Origin, the private space firm owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
“I don’t really have words for it,” the billionaire’s fiancée Lauren Sanchez said in an interview following the flight. “Earth looked just so quiet.”
“It is the highest high and it is surrender to the unknown,” said Perry. “I couldn’t recommend this experience more.”
Perry and Sanchez were joined by CBS News host Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
The only other all-female crew in 64 years of human spaceflight took place in 1963.
The rocket lifted off as part of Blue Origin mission NS-31 at 8:30 a.m. local time. The craft flew through space for around four minutes before floating back down to Earth, with the entire journey taking a little over 10 minutes.
When in space, Perry sang the song “What a Wonderful World.”
“It was a feeling of joy. It was a feeling of gratefulness,” Sanchez added.
Lauren Sanchez says looking into the darkness of outer space is 'like death'
“You look at it and you go, ‘Wait a second. We’re all on this planet. All the people that we love: this is it,’” said NS-31 crew member and Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sanchez.
“We have one planet, because out there it’s dark,” she added “...William Shatner even said this when he went to space. And now, I understand what he was talking about. It’s like death.”
Shatner said his time in space filled him with “overwhelming sadness.”
Gayle King recalls the moments before entering the crew capsule: 'I was so afraid'
CBS host Gayle King, a fearful flier, said she had seen a video of her walking to ring a silver bell before getting in the crew capsule.
Ringing the bell is a Blue Origin tradition, signaling to the stars that humans are headed their way.
“It’s because, at that moment, I was so afraid. I just wanted to get into my seat,” she explained, “because I just wanted to let the training kick in. I just wanted to get inside the capsule and sit down. So, the process of walking up there was a little daunting for me.”
Video from inside Blue Origin space flight shows Katy Perry and crew in microgravity
Katy Perry and all-female crew land safely after being blasted into space on Blue Origin rocket
Katy Perry and all-female crew land safely after blasting into space
Lauren Sanchez responds to criticism regarding NS-31
Lauren Sanchez, the fiancée of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, responded to a question about public criticism at a press conference after their suborbital spaceflight.
“I would love to have them come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that don't just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle,” Sanchez said. “They love their work and they love the mission and it's a big deal for them.”
“So, when we hear comments like that, I just say, ‘Trust me. Come with me. I'll show you what this is about.’ And, it's really eye opening,” she added.
Photos show NS-31 crew's minutes in microgravity
Aisha Bowe reacts to criticism of the mission: It's 'bigger than the criticism'
Aisha Bowe, a former NASA engineer who was on board NS-31 on Monday, also spoke about criticism of the Blue Origin mission.
“I wish those who are criticizing the mission could read the messages in my inbox,” she said.
When I decided that I was going to pursue aerospace engineering, it was after my high school guidance counselor told me that I should pursue cosmetology because she did not think that I would be suited for this field. I went from pre-algebra and community college to do two degrees in aerospace engineering, to working for NASA, to being able to sit on the stage and say: ‘It is bigger than the criticism.’
Who else was on the Blue Origin space trip with Katy Perry?
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