Katy Perry to join historic all-women space flight

Pop superstar Katy Perry is gearing up for an extraordinary journey as she prepares to join an all-women crew on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket.

This groundbreaking flight marks a significant milestone, being the first all-female space mission since Valentina Tereshkova's solo voyage in 1963.

Perry will be accompanied by an impressive lineup of trailblazing women, including Lauren Sanchez, the fiancée of Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos; CBS anchor Gayle King; former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe; civil rights advocate Amanda Nguyen; and film producer Kerianne Flynn.

While an exact launch date has yet to be announced, Blue Origin indicated that the mission is slated for this spring, before Perry embarks on her Lifetimes Tour, which runs from April 23 to November 11.

In a statement shared by Newsweek, Perry expressed her excitement, saying, "If you had told me I'd be part of the first all-female crew in space, I would have believed you. Nothing was beyond my imagination as a child."

The upcoming NS-31 mission will be the 11th human spaceflight for the New Shepard rocket and the 31st mission overall. To date, the program has successfully sent 52 individuals into space.

The New Shepard flights are fully autonomous, with no pilots on board, and each journey typically lasts about 11 minutes, taking passengers beyond the Karman line, the internationally recognized boundary of space.

Blue Origin credited Lauren Sanchez for her pivotal role in organizing this mission, stating in a press release that she is "honored to lead a team of explorers on a mission that will challenge their perspectives of Earth, empower them to share their own stories, and create lasting impact that will inspire generations to come."

Sanchez first revealed her vision for an all-women crew on a Blue Origin flight in a 2023 interview with Vogue, emphasizing their mission to "pave the way for women."