‘A Different Dimension’: Katy Perry, Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez Soar Into Space With Blue Origin

Billionaire Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin launched pop star Katy Perry, broadcaster Gayle King, Bezos’ fiancée and journalist Lauren Sánchez, rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen into space onboard the New Shepard spacecraft at 7 pm IST on Monday. The 11-minute flight has the first all-female crew visiting the space for tourism — an emerging industry that is expected to see better adoption after today’s launch.

On its 11th human flight, New Shepard (NS-31) lifted off from Launch Site One in West Texas carrying them beyond the Karman Line — the internationally recognised boundary 100km from Earth into space. At this point, the passenger section of the fully automated NS-31 rocket will separate and hover in space before it begins its plunge using parachutes to the desert floor. The all-female crew will be able to see Earth before the descent, according to the Blue Origin’s website.

The launch schedule

The NS-31’s launch window is set to open at about 8:30 local time (7:00 pm IST) as planned. The capsule will take off vertically reaching the Karman Line at three times the speed of sound. As soon as the capsule reaches the Line, the passenger section, carrying Perry, King, Sánchez, Bowe, and Nguyen, will detach from the rocket and float weightlessly.

Space tourism

Unlike manned spacecraft into space by NASA, Blue Origins — a private space company — launches commercial suborbital flights with paying passengers. The first such flight from the Bezos-owned company took off in 2021, spurring the growth of space tourism as an industry. Although still in infancy, every successful mission bolsters its appeal to people who can pay to go into space and watch the Earth like astronauts. According to Blue Origin's website, a passenger has to pay a $150,000 (roughly ₹1.3 crore) fully refundable deposit for enrolment into the programme.

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