New Delhi, April 14 (IANS) Pop star Katy Perry, along with five other women, has created history by becoming the first all-female crew to tour the edge of space on Jeff Bezos’ aerospace venture Blue Origin on Monday evening.
The six-member tourist mission lifted off on the company’s reusable New Shepard rocket — NS-31 — from Launch Site One in West Texas at 8:30 a.m. CDT (7:00 pm IST).
“The New Shepard booster has landed,” Blue Origin shared in a post on social media platform X.
“Capsule touchdown. Welcome back, NS-31 crew,” the company added.
The 11th human flight to suborbital space, lasting 11 minutes, flew above the Karman line — the internationally recognised boundary of space.
Besides Perry, the mission included former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and journalists Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez.
“This is the first all-female flight crew since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo spaceflight in 1963,” according to Blue Origin.
The mission is the second for the company this year. So far, Blue Origin has flown 52 people above the Karman line.
During the flight, the crew also conducted experiments.
“This NS-31 crew is embarking on a mission to transform their perspectives of Earth and create a lasting impact that inspires future generations,” Blue Origin stated before the launch.
Bowe, who is also the CEO of STEMBoard, an engineering firm, conducted three research experiments, including studies on plant biology and human physiology — advancing her mission to explore space for the benefit of Earth.
Singer-Songwriter Perry called the mission to space a dream come true.
“I’ve dreamt of going to space for 15 years and that dream becomes a reality,” Perry shared in a post, along with a video, on Instagram, earlier in the day.
“I am so honoured to be alongside five other incredible and inspiring women as we become the first ever all-female flight space crew!” she added.
–IANS
rvt/uk
