Gladness Gideon
Global pop icon Katy Perry is set to make history on Monday as part of an all-female crew heading to the edge of space aboard a Blue Origin rocket, in a mission that blends celebrity, science, and symbolism.
The 39-year-old singer, known for chart-toppers like “Firework” and “Roar,” will join five other trailblazing women, including Lauren Sanchez — fiancée of Amazon founder and Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos — in the company’s 11th suborbital crewed mission. The rocket is scheduled for lift-off from Blue Origin’s launch site in western Texas at approximately 8:30 a.m. local time (1330 GMT).
The fully autonomous spacecraft, part of the company’s New Shepard program, will propel the crew more than 100 kilometers (62 miles) above Earth, crossing the Kármán line — the internationally recognized boundary of space. After a brief period of weightlessness, during which the passengers can float freely and gaze at Earth from space, the capsule will descend back to land with the help of parachutes and retro thrusters.
This flight marks the first all-woman space crew since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo voyage in 1963 — a milestone that underscores both how far space travel has come, and how far it has to go in terms of gender parity.
In addition to Perry and Sanchez, the crew includes journalist and broadcaster Gayle King, aerospace engineer and former NASA scientist Aisha Bowe, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and Amanda Nguyen, a Nobel Peace Prize nominee and advocate for sexual assault survivors.
Blue Origin, which has flown 52 passengers to space since 2021, has not disclosed the cost of seats on the New Shepard vehicle. But the company is known to offer its suborbital trips to a mix of paying customers, invited guests, and public figures — part of a broader strategy to sustain visibility in the growing commercial space race.
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For Perry, this journey is deeply personal. In a recent interview with Elle magazine, she said she was embarking on the mission for her daughter, Daisy, whom she shares with actor Orlando Bloom. “I want her to know that there are no limits to her dreams,” Perry said. “When she goes back to school and says, ‘My mom went to space,’ I hope she feels empowered.”
In a video shared on Instagram, Perry revealed an emotional connection to the spacecraft itself. She said she was stunned to discover that the capsule she will fly in is called “Tortoise” and features a feather motif — coincidentally, both nicknames her parents use for her. “There are no coincidences,” she reflected. “It feels like something bigger is guiding this journey.”
The 10-minute mission comes amid increasing competition in the space tourism sector, with Bezos’ Blue Origin vying against Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk’s SpaceX. While Blue Origin has focused on suborbital missions thus far, the company’s ambitions are growing: in January, its more powerful New Glenn rocket completed a successful unmanned orbital launch, signaling a shift toward deeper space capabilities.
As the countdown begins, Monday’s flight is more than a celebrity spectacle. It stands as a cultural and technological milestone — combining the power of representation, innovation, and personal inspiration.