Blast off!
The star-studded, all-women Blue Origin NS-31 crew — including Katy Perry, Gayle King and Lauren Sánchez — took off from Texas on Monday.
The trio, decked out in full glam, was joined by former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
Before takeoff, Sánchez’s fiancé and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos shared some words of encouragement with the group as he led them onto the rocket.
“I’m so excited for you, I don’t want to get off, I want to go with you,” he told the women. “When you get back, I can’t wait to hear how it’s changed you. I love all of you. See you soon, Godspeed.”
King’s BFF Oprah Winfrey was also there for the star-studded send-off, telling USA Today that she has “never been more proud” of her friend of 50 years.
“It goes beyond this moment of just going up in space. I think this will be an everlasting experience,” she said. “Gayle has been there for me for hundreds of events — I can’t even remember them. But none of us will ever forget this day.”
The group is expected to be back on Earth in the blink of an eye, with the entire trip only lasting around 11 minutes.
The commercial spaceflight mission was comprised of the first all-women crew since Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo trip in 1963.
It also marked the 11th human flight for Blue Origin’s New Shepard program.
Ahead of the launch date, Perry told Elle that she was feeling cool, calm and collected after dreaming about going to space “for almost 20 years.”
“I don’t have any time to be nervous; I ain’t got time to be worried,” the “Firework” singer said. “I’m going to feel something when they go, ‘10, 9, 8, 7,…’ but until then we’ve got stuff to do. We’ve got business to handle.”
While Sánchez was admittedly a “little scared,” King didn’t try to hide her obvious nerves.
“I’m probably the only one at the table who wasn’t saying, ‘Put me in, coach,’” the 70-year-old joked. “When I got the call from Lauren and Jeff, my first reaction was a no.”
“So I had a lot of trepidation—I still do—but I also know it’s very interesting to be terrified and excited at the same time,” she continued. “I haven’t felt like this since childbirth. Because I knew childbirth was going to hurt. But it’s also stepping out of your comfort zone.”
Sánchez, for her part, said she was most excited to “inspire” other people “to be more curious about space and what else is out there.”
However, not everyone was feeling influenced by their wild journey.
Several critics — including Olivia Munn — blasted the “gluttonous” mission as everyday Americans struggle to pay the bills.
During an appearance on “Today,” Munn questioned what the women were “gonna do up there” that would “make it better for us down here.”
The actress pointed out the steep cost of space travel and the amount of “resources being spent” while “there’s a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs.”
Regardless of the criticisms, the crew got together at the annual Breakthrough Prize ceremony, dubbed the “Oscars of Science,” one week before the flight.
The night celebrates the research achievements in several scientific fields, honoring six of the top trailblazers with $3 million.
Perry, 40, performed at the illustrious event, where Hollywood titans mixed and mingled with the top minds in math and science.
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