Blue Origin rocket blasts off on all-female space tourism flight

Pop superstar Katy Perry and five other women have safely completed an all-female spaceflight aboard billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space tourism rocket.

She joined Blue Origin founder Bezos’ fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, journalist Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, who now heads an engineering firm, research scientist Amanda Nguyen and movie producer Kerianne Flynn on the 10-minute flight.

The New Shepard rocket lifted off on the quick up-and-down trip from West Texas to the fringes of space some 105 kilometres up about 8.30am (11.30pm AEST) today.

Squeals of joy erupted from inside the rocket as the women blasted away from Earth at supersonic speeds, exclaiming at the size of the almost-full moon.

The reusable rocket touched down in the desert about seven minutes after takeoff, followed a few minutes later by the capsule, accompanied by more exclamations of happiness.

Last week, Perry said she has been “psychologically” preparing for the spaceflight by reading work from the late Sagan and other scientists.

“I am feeling so grateful and grounded and honored to be invited and included with this incredible group of women,” Perry said.

Blue Origin announced the crew, selected by Sanchez, in February.

“When Jeff went up and came back down and I was so excited for everything,” she said in an interview on the Blue Origin coverage.

“Within 24 hours, he was like, ‘Would you ever go up?’ I was like, ‘What?” I was like, ‘Yes, I would go up’. 

“And in that exact moment, I said, ‘Could I take all women up?’ and he goes, ‘That’s a great idea’.”

Blue Origin has flown tourists on short hops to space since 2021, after Bezos climbed aboard with his brother for the inaugural trip; Perry’s trip is the company’s 11th human spaceflight.

Some passengers have received free rides, while others have paid a hefty sum to experience weightlessness. The company declined to comment on who was footing the bill for Monday’s flight.

The trip has not been without critiques, most recently from actor Olivia Munn, who bemoaned the mission’s cost and publicity. 

But Perry believes an all-women crew — the first since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo spaceflight in 1963 — has historic ramifications. Only 14 per cent of people who have gone to space so far have been women.

“It’s an important moment for the future of commercial space travel and for humanity in general and for women all around,” she said. 

“I just feel like, ‘Put us in coach’.”

After touchdown, Bezos opened the hatch and embraced his fiancee Sanchez on the way out. Perry held a daisy up in the air before kissing the dirt. 

The star power was not limited to the rocket itself, with members of the Kardashian family and Oprah Winfrey, CBS Mornings co-host King’s best friend, watching on.

“[I’ve] never been more proud because this is bigger than just going to space,” Winfrey said, before liftoff. 

” … Anytime we’re on a flight, she’s in anybody’s lap if there’s the slightest bit of turbulence, has like real, real anxiety flying, and this is overcoming a wall of fear, a barrier. 

“It’s, I think it’s going to be cathartic in so many ways for her.”

– Reported with Associated Press