Esteemed journalist Gayle King and pop star Katy Perry were among the first all-female crew to head to space on Monday (April 14) since 1963.
Blue Origin, a space company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, launched its New Shepard rocket at its Launch Site One in West Texas with a star-studded, all-female crew, including the likes of King, Perry, bioastronautics researcher Amanda Nguyen, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
Within roughly 10 minutes, the crew traveled more than 62 miles over Earth inside a 3.8-meter-wide spacecraft, reaching the edge of space and speeds of 2,300 miles per hour, roughly three times the speed of sound. King, Perry, and the other passengers experienced a few minutes of weightlessness before returning to Earth.
Ahead of historic spaceflight, Blue Origin’s latest crew completed two days of training at the West Texas launch site. King, Perry, Nguyen, Bowe, and Flynn practiced boarding and exiting the New Shepard capsule, along with putting on and removing their seatbelts in weightless conditions.
King previously said she was “really psyched” about the experience but admitted to feeling some nerves.
“You just don’t want anything to go wrong,” the CBS Mornings host said.
Friends, family, and A-list celebrities, including Oprah, Khloe Kardashian, and Kris Jenner, gathered at the launch and landing site to support the crew’s journey to space and safe return.
King kissed the ground as she exited the capsule after heading to space.
“Thank you, Jesus,” she said as she bent over to touch the earth.
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