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An All-Female Crew of Six
The launch is scheduled for this Monday, April 14th at 9:30 AM local time (which is 3:30 PM for us) from West Texas. Katy Perry will be joined by five other passengers: Lauren Sanchez (Jeff Bezos’s partner), Kerianne Flynn (film producer), Amanda Nguyen (advocate for sexual assault victims’ rights), Aisha Bowe (former NASA engineer), and Gayle King (famous TV host).
This flight will take place aboard New Shepard, a fully automated, reusable rocket that launches vertically. Once reaching altitude, the capsule detaches to provide a few minutes of weightlessness, before gently descending back to Earth using a parachute system and a retro-thruster. During their brief period in zero gravity, the passengers will be able to unstrap from their seats and float freely for a few moments—an experience as brief as it is unforgettable.
A Space Adventure to Inspire Young Girls
For Katy Perry, this journey is highly symbolic. In a recent interview with Elle magazine, she mentioned that she is undertaking this mission for her daughter Daisy
, whom she had with British actor Orlando Bloom. I want to show her that no dream is too big,
the singer shared. When she goes back to school and says, ‘My mom went to space,’ I want to see the light in her eyes.
Space Tourism: Between Prestige and Ambition
This mission is part of Blue Origin’s strategy, which has already successfully sent fifty-two people into space, including celebrities like William Shatner, Captain Kirk from Star Trek. Through these highly publicized flights, Jeff Bezos’s company aims to popularize space tourism while keeping the public engaged.
But beyond the spectacle, the commercial battle is intense. Blue Origin faces fierce competition from Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and especially Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The company also recently achieved a new milestone with the successful launch of an unmanned orbital flight using the more powerful New Glenn rocket, a significant step up from New Shepard.