Blue Origin’s First All-Female Crew Heads to Space with Katy Perry

Blue Origin’s mission marks the 11th crewed flight of the New Shepard spacecraft, taking six women beyond Earth’s atmosphere for a zero-gravity experience

Next Monday (14), singer Katy Perry, 40, will join the first-ever all-female crew on a commercial spaceflight. The journey, organized by Blue Origin, the space exploration company founded by Jeff Bezos, promises to offer the six participants a unique view of Earth and a few moments of weightlessness.

This will be the 31st mission of the New Shepard rocket and the 11th crewed flight of the spacecraft. Estimated to last around 11 minutes, the launch will take place from the state of Texas, USA, at 10:30 a.m. Brasília time. The entire flight will be streamed live on Blue Origin’s official channels and social media.

During the flight, the passengers will float for about four minutes in zero gravity after crossing the Kármán Line — the symbolic boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space, located at an altitude of 100 kilometers.

In the days leading up to liftoff, the group attended virtual briefings and, once on-site, will receive final instructions. The participants will get familiar with the equipment, test their custom suits, and take part in simulations inside a capsule identical to the official one.

The capsule features six seats arranged in a circle, each with its own window for viewing the curvature of the Earth. The flight is fully automated, requiring no pilot on board. If any participant changes her mind, she can opt out up to 2 minutes and 30 seconds before launch by saying the key phrases “time out” or “I won’t fly.”

The spacecraft reaches speeds three times faster than the speed of sound before beginning its return to Earth, where it will land gently with the help of parachutes. The launch was only approved after 16 successful test flights since 2021.

Source and images: Unilad / Instagram @katyperry. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.