Katy Perry is officially taking her career to new heights—outer space, to be exact. The chart-topping pop star is one of six high-profile women set to soar aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket on April 14, marking the company’s first all-female suborbital flight.
Joining Perry are talk show icon Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sanchez, who also helped shape the mission behind the scenes. It’s a historic flight for Blue Origin—and for the broader narrative of women in space.
Glam Meets Galaxy: Katy Perry Brings Style to Space
Never one to shy away from a statement, Perry is bringing her signature flair to the mission. In an interview with Elle, she joked, “Space is going to finally be glam. If I could take glam up with me, I would. We’re putting the ‘a–’ in astronaut.”
The group recently revealed their flight suits on social media—sleek, tailored navy jumpsuits designed by Monse co-founders Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, featuring the women’s last names, NASA patches, and the Blue Origin logo. Lauren Sanchez, who helped coordinate the design, said, “Usually, these suits are made for a man and then tailored to fit a woman. We wanted something elegant—with a little spice.”
Sanchez and Perry clearly had fun with the fashion, turning a spaceflight into a runway moment. But beyond the glam, the mission is deeply personal for many of the participants.
Katy’s Cosmic Dream Comes True
For Perry, heading to space is a dream decades in the making. “I’ve wanted to go to space for almost 20 years,” she revealed. “Even when Blue Origin first announced plans for commercial space travel, I was like, ‘Sign me up!’”
When the invite finally came, she saw it as more than just an opportunity—it felt like a sign. “They sent me a photo of the space pod, and on the front was a feather. That’s my mom’s nickname for me. I took that as a message from the universe that this was meant to be.”
Each Blue Origin passenger is allowed to bring a few small personal items on the flight. Perry said she plans to carry “something that has life in it, just to remind us how precious Earth is.” It’s a symbolic gesture in a moment that’s both thrilling and deeply reflective.
Gayle King Faces Her Fears—and Takes Off
Joining Perry on the mission is CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King, who compared the emotional mix of excitement and fear to preparing for childbirth. “It’s terrifying and exciting all at once,” she said.
King consulted her children and longtime friend Oprah Winfrey before committing. “Once Kirby, Will, and Oprah were okay with it, I was fine,” she explained. “Oprah told me, ‘If you don’t do it, and everyone else comes back with these incredible stories, you’ll kick yourself.’ She was right.”
Gayle has packed family photos and one of her grandson’s items for the flight, and hopes they’ll be allowed to play music onboard. “I don’t even know if it’s possible, but the idea of a soundtrack while you’re floating in space? That sounds perfect.”
Making History: Blue Origin’s 11th Civilian Flight
The launch, set to take off from Blue Origin’s West Texas facility, is the 11th civilian mission for the company’s New Shepard rocket, but it’s the first with an all-female crew. The mission lasts about 11 minutes from launch to landing, briefly reaching the Kármán line, the recognized boundary of space.
Blue Origin began flying civilians in 2021, opening the door for non-astronauts to experience microgravity and gaze back at Earth from space. Bezos, who founded the company in 2000, has described these flights as both “life-changing” and “essential for expanding our understanding of Earth.”
Stars Who’ve Reached for the Stars
Katy Perry now joins a growing club of celebrities who have explored the final frontier—or at least tried to. In 2021, William Shatner, famous for his role as Captain Kirk in Star Trek, became the oldest person to travel to space at 90 years old. But unlike many, he returned not with euphoria, but with sorrow.
“What I felt wasn’t joy—it was grief,” Shatner later explained. “From space, you see just how fragile our planet is. We’re on a small rock in an infinite universe. It made me deeply sad about what we’re doing to Earth.”
Others have made plans, but haven’t quite made it. Pete Davidson was scheduled to join a Blue Origin flight in 2022, but had to back out due to scheduling conflicts. NSYNC’s Lance Bass trained as a cosmonaut in Russia in the early 2000s but never made the trip. Justin Bieber and Leonardo DiCaprio both bought seats with Virgin Galactic, though neither has flown yet due to years of delays.
Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic’s founder, did beat Bezos into space by nine days in July 2021. Though some criticized the billionaire space race, Branson defended the mission’s scientific value: “Satellites and space tech help us fight climate change, monitor deforestation, and bring communication to remote areas. These missions are for the good of Earth.”
A New Era for Women in Space
This all-female flight sends a powerful message: space is no longer just a playground for men in bulky suits or tech billionaires with cash to burn. It’s becoming more inclusive, more diverse, and—thanks to women like Perry, King, and Bowe—more inspiring.
Whether it’s a pop star dreaming big, a scientist redefining what’s possible, or a journalist pushing past fear, this mission represents progress in every sense. It’s proof that anyone, no matter their background, can look up at the stars and say, “One day, I’ll be there.”
And on April 14, six remarkable women will do exactly that.
