Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin, successfully launched an all-female celebrity crew into space on Monday, marking a historic moment in the evolution of space tourism. The mission was led by Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, and included pop star Katy Perry, broadcast journalist Gayle King, and several other accomplished women.
The flight, launched from West Texas aboard the New Shepard rocket, reached the edge of space — approximately 66 miles (107 kilometers) above Earth — and gave the crew several minutes of weightlessness during the 10-minute, fully automated journey.
Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, personally invited the group. Joining her were:
- Katy Perry, singer-songwriter, who serenaded Earth with “What a Wonderful World” while in space;
- Gayle King, co-host of CBS Mornings, who kissed the ground upon landing and exclaimed, “Oh my God, that was amazing”;
- Kerianne Flynn, a film producer;
- Aisha Bowe, a former NASA engineer and advocate for science education;
- Amanda Nguyen is an astrophysicist and human rights activist.
“This wasn’t just about us taking up space — we were making space for the future,” Perry said during a post-flight press conference. “It’s about a collective energy in there. It’s about us.”
This flight marked Blue Origin’s 11th human spaceflight and the first all-female crew launched from U.S. soil — a milestone in the 64-year history of human space travel. The only other all-female space mission was by Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, who flew solo in 1963.
Despite this progress, women still represent less than 15% of the over 700 individuals who have traveled to space. Sanchez said she intentionally chose an all-female crew to inspire both young and old, commissioning special suits for the mission to symbolize their unity and purpose.
Spectators at the launch included Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner, and former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, the first Black woman in space. Emotions ran high as the capsule reached the edge of space, with cheers and tears from loved ones watching from below.
Bezos, who founded Blue Origin in 2000 after his success with Amazon, personally greeted the crew after landing, opening the capsule and embracing Sanchez, the first to step out. Their wedding is scheduled for later this year in Venice.
While Blue Origin has not disclosed ticket prices or who funded this particular flight, most of its 58 space tourists to date have included business leaders, science advocates, and public figures.
Blue Origin previously made headlines by sending Star Trek actor William Shatner to space in 2021, followed by TV host Michael Strahan and aviation pioneer Wally Funk.
As commercial spaceflight continues to grow, competitors like SpaceX are also expanding access. Chinese-born bitcoin investor Chun Wang recently funded and joined the first polar spaceflight via SpaceX, declaring: “In this exciting new era of commercial spaceflight, the dream of becoming an astronaut is no longer limited to a select few.”
With this latest Blue Origin mission, Lauren Sanchez and her fellow crewmates have quite literally reached for the stars — and in doing so, are helping redefine what the future of space travel can look like.
Edgaroo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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