Katy Perry, Gayle King and others reflect on their brief but historic trip to space

Updated April 14, 2025 at 11:46 AM ET

After returning from a brief trip to space, Katy Perry says she will definitely be writing a song about her experience.

Perry was one of six in an all-female crew that launched and landed safely on Monday morning aboard a rocket operated by Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin company. Other big names include journalist Gayle King and Bezos' fiancé, Lauren Sánchez.

The star-studded crew flew on Blue Origin's New Shepard launch vehicle, which since 2021 has ferried dozens of scientists, entrepreneurs and celebrities above the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space, about 62 miles above Earth's surface.

Monday's mission, NS-31, had garnered considerable attention in recent weeks because of its famous passengers and historic nature.

It was the first all-female spaceflight since 1963, when Soviet-era cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova — the first woman in space — orbited the Earth during a nearly three-day solo flight.

Blue Origin's flight was significantly shorter, lasting 10 minutes and 21 seconds.

It took off from Blue Origin's Launch Site One in West Texas at 9:30 a.m. EDT on Monday, after weeks of anticipation.

Hundreds of thousands of people tuned into Blue Origin's online livestream to watch the journey from launch to landing, as passengers' loved ones — many of them celebrities in their own right, such as Oprah Winfrey — watched in person.

The crew spent several minutes in zero gravity and total amazement, as captured by audio on the livestream. They could be heard marveling at the moon and, later, screaming excitedly when the parachutes opened on the way down.

"Congratulations, and welcome back to Earth," mission control said as the capsule settled in the dusty valley.

Minutes later, the door to the capsule opened and all six women filed out, some crying and pumping their fists. Both Perry and King knelt down to touch the ground with their own hands.

"It's oddly quiet when you get up there," King said later. "It's really quiet and peaceful, and you look down on the planet and think: That's where we came from? To me it's such a reminder about how we need to do better, be better."

King also revealed that Perry — who had hinted that she might sing on board — entertained her crewmates with parts of Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" while the capsule floated in space.

"I think that it's not about me, it's not about singing my songs, it's about a collective energy in there," Perry said afterward. "It's about making space for future women, and taking up space and belonging, and it's about this wonderful world that we see right out there and appreciating it. This is all for the benefit of Earth."

Here's what else to know about the flight and the people on board.

Who was aboard — and how did they react?

The fully autonomous vehicle had no pilots, and six crew members:

• Lauren Sánchez, a journalist, author, pilot and philanthropist who also happens to be Bezos' fiancé. She is credited with putting the team together and working with the brand Monse to redesign the women's space suits.

Sanchez was visibly emotional after exiting the capsule, saying she didn't have the words to describe her experience. She reflected on how "quiet" but "really alive" the Earth looked, saying it made her think about how "we're all in this together."

She also joked that if Bezos didn't want to marry her, he didn't have to send her into space. She said she had to make it back safe for the wedding, adding, "If I didn't come back, that would be a bummer for me."

• Aisha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist and STEM advocate who Blue Origin says will be the first person of Bahamian descent to visit space. It says she planned to carry postcards from students and conduct three research experiments on board, including on plant biology and human physiology. 

Bowe brought her grandfather, 92-year-old Forester Bowe, to the launch, telling Essence beforehand that "they didn't even have airplanes on his island when he grew up, and now he's going to see me go to space."

Bowe said he told her after the flight: "I was really worried for you, but then Oprah squeezed me." For her part, Bowe said she "will never be the same."

• Amanda Nguyễn, a bioastronautics research scientist and civil rights activist whose advocacy for sexual violence survivors saw her awarded TIME's Woman of the Year and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Blue Origin says she will be the first Vietnamese and Southeast Asian woman astronaut, calling her flight "a symbol of reconciliation between the United States and Vietnam." 

Nguyễn carried a hospital bracelet — from a visit following her assault — on the flight, which she has previously described as part of her healing process.

Afterwards, she offered a message to survivors of sexual assault: "I just want all survivors to know that you can heal, no dream is too wild."

• Gayle King, the prominent broadcast journalist who cohosts CBS News' flagship program, CBS Mornings, and is the editor-at-large of Oprah Daily. She said when the flight was announced in February: "I don't know how to explain being terrified and excited at the same time. It's like how I felt about to deliver a baby." 

King has been open about her fear of flying. Before the flight, her longtime best friend Oprah Winfrey told reporters on the scene that she had encouraged her to embrace the opportunity — both to confront her fears and be part of history, and because she didn't want her to regret missing it.

"It goes beyond this moment of just going up in space. I think this will be an everlasting experience," said Winfrey, who could be seen covering her eyes and her heart as she watched the flight from the ground.

After landing, King said she had "no regrets" about doing it, and applauded the training team for telling the crew exactly what to expect.

"I stepped out of my comfort zone in a way that I never thought was possible for me, and now that I've done it, I really do feel I can take on anything," she said, adding that she may now conquer another fear: getting her ears pierced.

• Katy Perry, the pop star whose lengthy catalogue includes a few songs that reference aliens and shooting across the sky. Perry told Elle earlier this month that her tailor-made space playlist — titled "the Space Sistas" — includes Nicki Minaj's "Starships," "Starman" by David Bowie, "Around the World" by Daft Punk and her own "E.T." 

Perry brought a daisy on the flight, both because it's her daughter's name and a larger reminder.

"Daisies are common flowers but they grow through any condition ... they are powerful, they are strong, they are everywhere," she said after landing. "Flowers are to me God's smile, but it's also a reminder of our beautiful Earth ... and the beautiful magic that is everywhere, all around us, even in a simple daisy."

Perry said afterward that she felt "super connected to love" — and also inspired. When asked if she would write a song about her experience, she said "100%."

• Kerianne Flynn, a film producer and philanthropist who told Elle she's dreamed of going to space ever since she was a kid in small-town Michigan, stargazing with her grandfather. 

Flynn called the flight — especially getting to see the moon — "the most incredible experience of my life."

"Knowing that everyone I loved was standing down there looking back up at me," she said tearfully. "I just hope that these types of experiences will clear a path for everyone to be able to do that."

What kind of rocket is it? 

Blue Origin calls New Shepard its "fully reusable, suborbital rocket system built for human flight from the beginning." It is named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

The rocket's pressurized capsule — "environmentally controlled for comfort" — fits six people, each with their own window seat.

The capsule reached a maximum height of 350,449 feet, according to Blue Origin. By design, it separated from the booster on the way back, undergoing a period of freefall before landing with the aid of three parachutes.

According to Blue Origin, after the rocket reaches space, its engine restarts to slow the booster down to a speed of just 6 miles per hour for a "controlled pinpoint landing on the pad."

How much do flights cost? 

Blue Origin hasn't publicly confirmed the price of a ticket, but its reservation page requires a $150,000 deposit to begin the process.

The company auctioned off a seat on its first crewed flight for $28 million in 2021.

Some celebrities have flown for free as "honored guests," as was the case for TV host Michael Strahan, Alan Shepard's daughter Laura Shepard Churchley and actor William Shatner.

How many flights has Blue Origin done? 

NS-31 is the New Shepard's 11th human flight, according to Blue Origin.

The New Shepard made its maiden space voyage in July 2021, carrying Bezos, his brother Mark, and the oldest and youngest people to ever fly into space at that time — 82-year-old pioneering female aviator Wally Funk and physics student Oliver Daemen, 18.

Blue Origin has been sending pioneers, prominent figures and paying customers into space ever since, completing its 30th overall mission to space in February.

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