Katy Perry and an all-female crew have rocketed into space aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin craft and touched down in a reusable capsule powered by a booster which can also be redeployed .
During the 11-minute flight, the New Shepard capsule reached an altitude of 100km and crossed the Karman Line, used as the boundary of the Earth’s atmosphere and the realm of space.
As the capsule enters freefall, the crew experienced four minutes of weightlessness, before the capsule returned to Earth after just minutes in space by deploying its parachutes and landing safely.
The NS-31 mission launched from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One in Texas. It was powered by a reusable rocket which pushed the capsule into space before detaching and gently guiding itself back to Earth.
Speaking about taking on the venture when it was first announced, the Katy Perry shared on her Instagram account: ‘If you had told me that I would be part of the first-ever all-female crew in space, I would have believed you. Nothing was beyond my imagination as a child. Although we didn’t grow up with much, I never stopped looking at the world with hopeful WONDER!’
She added: ‘I work hard to live my life that way still, and I am motivated more than ever to be an example for my daughter that women should take up space (pun intended).
‘That’s why this opportunity is so incredible — so that I can show all of the youngest & most vulnerable among us to reach for the stars, literally and figuratively. I am honored to be among this diverse group of celestial sisters.’
First Woman-only Crew
Alongside Katy Perry, the six-person crew included former NASA scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, journalist Lauren Sanchez, who is also the partner of Bezos, and TV presenter Gayle King.
They represented the first woman-only crew although solo Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space and spent three days off the planet in 1963.
Burning a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, the engine generates around 50,000 kg of force while producing nothing but water vapour.
It hit speeds exceeding 3,200 kmph – over twice the speed of sound during the flight, officially designated NS 31.
The forces on both the capsule and the crew were intense as the rocket hits its point of maximum stress, known as Max-Q in aerospace engineering.
According to Blue Origin, Katy Perry and her fellow astronauts experienced three times the force of gravity as the booster accelerates.
Sánchez, an experienced helicopter pilot, was mission leader for flight. However, the vehicle fully automated and she never had any manual control.
Bezos issued a message to the crew before launch: ‘Most amazing, most profound experience. I don’t want to get off, I want to go with you. When you get back, I want to hear how it’s changed you. Godspeed.’
Previous Blue Origin passengers have included Star Trek actor William Shatner and Good Morning America’s Michael Strahan.
