Katy Perry is gearing up for an extraordinary adventure—literally. The pop sensation, who whimsically trained for space during the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, is now poised to embark on an actual space expedition.
Back then, Perry playfully commented on Instagram about her “zero gravity training” with MTV, indulging in astronaut ice cream and engaging in a group chat with space legends Buzz Aldrin and Neil deGrasse Tyson. She even donned an iridescent spacesuit and floated above the stage on wires. Now, she’s elevating her space dreams by boarding Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.
Perry will be accompanied by an entirely female crew, featuring *CBS Mornings* host Gayle King and Lauren Sánchez, the fiancée of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos and the founder of Black Ops Aviation. The mission, dubbed **NS-31**, hasn’t been assigned a confirmed launch date yet but is anticipated to occur this spring. The flight is set to reach over 60 miles above Earth, surpassing the Kármán line—the delineation between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space.
This mission will represent Blue Origin’s 11th passenger flight and will include Perry and her fellow crew members in the steadily growing roster of civilian astronauts. To date, the company has transported 52 individuals to the brink of space.
The rest of the crew comprises former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics scientist and activist Amanda Nguyen, and fashion designer-turned-film producer Kerianne Flynn. Sánchez, who drew media spotlight earlier this year when she attended Donald Trump’s inauguration alongside Bezos and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, conveyed her astonishment at the opportunity.
“If anyone had told me I’d be going to space one day, I would have chuckled,” Sánchez stated in an Instagram reel. “I can’t believe it’s actually happening.”
King, known for her close bond with Oprah Winfrey, was equally amazed. CBS shared a montage of her reaction, which included a previous moment when correspondent Mark Strassman humorously remarked, “Gayle, sooner or later, we’re going to get you up there.” At that time, she laughed it off, but now it’s turning into a reality.
The precise details regarding the crew’s training and the cost of their seats remain uncertain. Neither Blue Origin nor CBS has responded to inquiries. However, in 2021, Blue Origin auctioned its inaugural New Shepard ticket for $28 million, with proceeds benefiting its space-oriented charity, Club for the Future. Some passengers, however, have traveled for free.
Since initiating its human spaceflight program, Blue Origin has established a reputation for sending celebrities to space. Previous passengers include *Good Morning America* host Michael Strahan, *Star Trek* icon William Shatner—who became one of the oldest people to fly to space at 90—and NASA’s first Black astronaut candidate, Ed Dwight, who also flew at 90.
Even *Saturday Night Live* comedian Pete Davidson was scheduled for a Blue Origin flight in 2022, but scheduling conflicts prevented his participation.
This forthcoming mission will be historic, as it signifies the first all-female crewed spaceflight since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo mission in 1963.