Pop star Katy Perry and five other women launched into space on a Blue Origin rocket and successfully returned to Earth on Monday, marking the first all-female spaceflight in more than 60 years.
The crew lifted off from West Texas at 9:31 a.m. ET (1331 GMT) and traveled to the edge of space, where they experienced a brief period of weightlessness before returning to Earth in a flight lasting around 11 minutes, according to a live broadcast by Blue Origin, the space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos.
The spaceflight is a high-profile win for Bezos’ New Shepard launch vehicle, which has been developed for space tourism.
The six-person crew also included Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sanchez, CBS host Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, scientist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
King said that when the crew returned to their seats after weightlessness, Perry sang Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World’. “I feel super connected to love,” Katy Perry said after landing back on Earth.
She was holding a daisy flower, which she took into space, to remind her of her daughter, Daisy.
“Daisies are common flowers, but they grow through any condition … They are resilient. They are powerful. They are strong.”
It was the first all-female spaceflight since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova – the first woman in space – orbited the Earth during a nearly three-day solo flight.
On their return, each of the six women who embarked on the brief journey over the so-called Karman line, the internationally recognised altitude for where space begins:
Gayle King said she just wanted to take a moment to “appreciate the ground”.
Lauren Sánchez said there was a feeling of camaraderie between the women, adding: “I’m so proud of this crew”.
Amanda Nguyen, a civil rights activist, said before the mission she had promised herself never to give up. “I’m so grateful,” she added.
Kerianne Flynn said her son’s friends had told him that mums “don’t go to space,” on landing back on Earth she said: “This mum went to space.”
Aisha Bowe said “I will never be the same”, adding that there was an “energy” in the capsule as the group of women shared a moment while in space.
Katy Perry said going to space “comes second to being a mum” and teases the potential of a new song based on her experience.
By Agencies
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