Katy Perry and Gayle King make history with all-female space flight
- Katy Perry and Gayle King embarked on a historic space journey on April 14, 2023, as part of an all-female crew.
- The mission was notable not just for its timing but also for the inclusion of diverse participants in the crew.
- This flight signifies a step forward in increasing representation in space travel and encourages a rethinking of gender roles in exploration.
On April 14, 2023, American singer Katy Perry and journalist Gayle King took part in a brief space flight organized by Blue Origin, the private aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos. Their flight was significant as it marked the first time that an all-female crew journeyed to space since 1963. The launch occurred from Blue Origin's Launch Site One in West Texas, located near El Paso. The flight aboard the New Shepard rocket lasted approximately 10 minutes and 21 seconds, reaching the Karman line, recognized as the boundary of space, at about 100 kilometers above Earth. In addition to Perry and King, the crew included Aisha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist and the first person of Bahamian heritage to travel to space; Kerianne Flynn, a film producer; and Amanda Nguyen, a bioastronautics research scientist and advocate for sexual assault survivors, who also became the first Vietnamese woman to reach space. King remarked on the profound impact of the experience, reflecting on the empowerment gained from stepping outside one’s comfort zone. Perry even performed the song