Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched his fiancee Lauren Sanchez into space Monday with an all-female celebrity crew that included Katy Perry and Gayle King.
It was the latest wave in space tourism, where more of the rich and famous than ever before — or lucky and well-connected — can enter the zero-gravity realm traditionally dominated by professional astronauts.
The New Shepard rocket blasted off on the quick up-and-down trip from West Texas. The fringes of space beckoned 66 miles (107 kilometers) up and provided a few precious minutes of weightlessness.
Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, invited the others along for the 10-minute, fully automated flight, packing on the star power with singer-songwriter Perry and “CBS Mornings” co-host King. Moved by the views of Earth below, Perry said she couldn't resist singing “What a Wonderful World" in space.
Also sharing the ride were film producer Kerianne Flynn; Aisha Bowe, a former NASA engineer who started her own companies to promote science education; and Amanda Nguyen, a scientist who studied planets around other stars and now advocates for survivors of sexual violence.
Blue Origin declined to say how much the flight cost or who paid what. The trip came two months before Sanchez and Bezos marry in Venice.
It was the 11th human spaceflight for the Washington state-based company, founded by Bezos in 2000 after making a fortune with Amazon. Bezos strapped in for Blue Origin’s first space tourist flight in 2021 and accompanied the latest crew to the pad.
The celebrity launch was the nation’s first spaceflight where women filled each seat. The only other all-female crew in 64 years of human spaceflight was back in 1963. That’s when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova launched by herself, becoming the first woman in space. Tereshkova spent three days off the planet.
Even after the latest launch, women represent barely 15% of the more than 700 people who have traveled into space. Sanchez said she deliberately chose women to launch with her, each of them eager to inspire both the young and old to dream big, and even commissioned special flight suits.
The launch brought out VIPs to West Texas including Oprah Winfrey; Kris Jenner and other members of the Kardashian family; former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, who became the first Black woman in space in 1992; and several women who previously have flown on private flights. Winfrey, a close friend of King, wiped away tears when the capsule reached space and the passengers were heard marveling at the moon and shouting with joy.
As the women were buckling up for the ride back, Perry broke into song. Despite urging by her crewmates, she resisted singing “Roar” or her other tunes and instead chose “What a Wonderful World.”
“It’s not about me. It’s not about singing my songs," Perry said following the flight. “It’s about a collective energy in there. It's about us.” At a news conference later, she stressed, “We weren't just taking up space. We were making space for the future.”
Bezos opened the capsule's hatch minutes after touchdown, embracing Sanchez, the first one out. As they emerged, Perry and King kneeled and kissed the ground. “Oh my God, that was amazing,” said King, who considers herself an anxious airplane flyer.
Three hours later, Sanchez said she was still trying to process everything. “Profound is like the one word I would use,” she said.
This wasn't the first Blue Origin launch with marquee names.
“Star Trek” actor William Shatner caught a lift to space with Blue Origin in 2021 at age 90, soon after Bezos’ inaugural trip. He was followed by former New York Giants defensive end and TV host Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, for whom the rocket is named. Two aviation pioneers who missed out on space when they were younger — Wally Funk and Ed Dwight — also rocketed away at ages 82 and 90, respectively.
Most of Blue Origin's passengers — 58 counting the latest launch — have been business or science types, TV hosts or YouTubers. Ticket prices are not disclosed.
The Russian Space Agency also has launched its share of space tourists, beginning with a California financier in 2001. Two decades later, a Russian actress filmed aboard the International Space Station.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX also sells multi-day trips to private customers. SpaceX's first client to fly, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman already has launched twice and performed the first private spacewalk. He's now set to become NASA's next administrator if confirmed by the Senate.
Chinese-born bitcoin investor Chun Wang just returned from the first spaceflight to carry people over the north and south poles. Wang picked up the whole SpaceX tab for himself and three polar explorers for an undisclosed sum.
“In this exciting new era of commercial spaceflight, the dream of becoming an astronaut is no longer limited to a select few,” Wang said via X last week.
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14 Comments
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owzer
Definitely gonna need popcorn for this!
I'veSeenFootage
Oh God. What cruelty. They were already in a stressful situation and she made it exponentially worse.
Cephus
Apart from the thrill of climbing higher and higher what is up there to see. Beautiful scenery full of blossoming flowers and mahogany trees?
TokyoLiving
What a pathetic farce..
starpunk
Nothing wrong with that. See the Big Blue Marble from orbit and reflect on God's might. John Glenn did back in the 60s the first time he went to space.
How about just not 'singing' at all? You know, during the glasnost late 80s John Denver wanted to go to space and compose a song while in orbit. Think what you might about his music, but that would've been a much greater (and more serious) alternative to this!
You know what Andy Warhol said, don't you? He was right after all. And Katy Perry's latest CD being trashed by the critics ('has-been'), do the math.
asiafriend
As far as I can understand, these women were not crew members, they were passengers. As such, scientific crew members conduct research, experiments, data collection, etc.. Hopefully at least one person conducted some type of experiment. They enjoyed the ride and that is great, and I would too if given the opportunity. But they were passengers, not crew members.
The last line of this article, “In this exciting new era of commercial spaceflight, the dream of becoming an astronaut is no longer limited to a select few,” Wang said via X last week. In fact, it actually is limited to a select few. This quote by Wang is a direct contradiction from the second paragraph, "It was the latest wave in space tourism, where more of the rich and famous than ever before — or lucky and well-connected — can enter the zero-gravity realm traditionally dominated by professional astronauts." Yes, if you are one of the select few that has connections or hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend and not blink an eye, then it is possible.
Peter Neil
They didn’t go into orbit, they barely reached halfway to orbit. They went up and fell back down and felt weightlessness as they dropped.
Cephus
Though it's thrilling It's just a ten minute ride. Even super rapid train from Sannomiya to Osaka lasts longer.
Peter Neil
Why not send some real people instead silicone, lip filler and botox in a "look at me" stunt.
Nibek32
They are rich tourists, not a crew.
Ego Sum Lux Mundi
I’m not saying the suits aren’t attractive. They are. Sanchez, at least, looks good in hers. It’s just that what it says about the priorities of the female astronauts doesn’t tend to lend it to anyone taking them seriously. I mean, if it weren’t for the fact that we know none of them had anything to do with the flight itself, and that they’ll have no more control over the flight controls than the dog the Russians sent up back in the day did, the odds would very heavily favor them crashing.
starpunk
Absolutely correct. Women have been going to space since the Soviet Valentina and Sally Ride. That's nothing new. But you see, they trained extensively to go to space, explore, test and work. Space exploration is not/never was a joyride and there are/always has been risks. It's tough, they study and do work with the knowledge they learned by getting college degrees. There are no free rides in space exploration. 'Astronaut' is an occupation that you work towards becoming, and not everybody gets to be one. Zipping around the world for a few minutes is not the same as living on a space station for up to a year or more. It's not the same as orbiting or stepping on the moon or a planet where you just don't know what could happen next. We've sent and even lost a number of robots exploring all this.
I'm sorry for the sarcasm and I hate to be a spoilsport but I just ain't impressed by this Famous Fifteen Minutes stunt by a bunch pop tart divas. Not in the least. They did not control the spaceship, or even get training for that. That takes schooling and I really don't think any of them have what it takes for that. NASA material they ain't. Space travel takes reducation, it takes rigorous training, it takes skill + certification. Astronauts work.
And writing bad pop songs with spoiled egotistical diva lyrics altered by that gawdawful auto-tune and then going on a 'tour' lip-synching to this rubbish isn't isn't really 'working' either. And it certainly is not 'feminism' or 'girl power'. NO!
TaiwanIsNotChina
The advantage is they didn't have to get scooped out of the ocean as a result. And they still got to feel what being launched by a rocket was like.
starpunk
You can look cute in a 'body-hugging' spacesuit, but that's no guaranteed that the wearer has any cred, or brains.
We've had real women astronauts ever since space exploration began. Valentina Tereshkova is the first and she's still living today. We've had Sally Ride and many others and even lost a few (two members of the 'Challenger' crew who perished in the 1986 disaster were women, same for 'Columbia' in 2004). And in fact, one of the 'stranded' (not) three on the ISS who recently returned home to Earth was a woman.
Of course Valentina Tereshkova and Sally Ride are famous and notorious simply for being 'the first'. There's a 'first' for everything. But once again, they had to undergo all that training, studying and work to get to their exalted statuses. And none of them pushed the 'sex angle' or 'ego issue'. None of this 'silicone, lip filler and botox in a "look at me" stunt'.
I respect women who do what they do and don't toot their horns about it. That's what matters in the long run.