Tech tycoon Jeff Bezos sent his fiancée Lauren Sanchez into space aboard his firm Blue Origin’s spacecraft on Monday alongside an all-women star team.
Katy Perry
and Gayle King.
This marked the newest trend in space tourism, enabling an increasing number of wealthy and celebrities – as well as those who were fortunate or had influential connections – to venture into the zero-gravity environment historically reserved for career astronauts.
The New Shepard rocket took off for the brief up-and-down journey from West Texas. About 105 kilometers above, the edges of space called out, offering a fleeting period of weightlessness.
Sanchez, who previously worked as a TV journalist and now flies helicopters, offered the group a spot on his 10-minute, completely automated journey. He added some celebrity appeal by including singer-songwriter Perry and CBS Mornings co-host King.
Alongside him were film producer Kerianne Flynn; Aisha Bowe, a former NASA engineer who founded businesses aimed at boosting science education; and Amanda Nguyen, a scientist with expertise in exoplanets who currently works as an advocate for sexual assault survivors.
Blue Origin
refused to disclose the price of the flight or who covered the expenses. This journey took place two months prior to Sanchez and Bezos’ wedding in Venice.
Just the second female-only team in history
This marked the 11th crewed mission launched by the Seattle-area based firm, established by Bezos in the year 2000 following his financial success with Amazon.
Bezos secured himself for Blue Origin’s inaugural space tourism flight in 2021 and joined the newest crew heading to the launchpad.
The celebrity launch marked the country’s inaugural space mission with women occupying every seat. Prior to this, the sole other all-female crew occurred way back in 1963, making it 64 years since then.
It was then that Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova embarked on her solo mission, making her the first woman to venture into space. Tereshkova remained in orbit for three days.
Despite the most recent launches, women account for less than 15 percent of the over 700 individuals who have ventured into space.
Sanchez mentioned that she intentionally selected women to join her mission, all of whom were enthusiastic about motivating people of all ages to aspire to great dreams. She also had custom flight suits made for this purpose.
“It’s a crucial juncture for the future of commercial space travel, as well as for humanity overall and particularly for women everywhere,” Perry stated to The Associated Press last week.
The event attracted notable personalities from West Texas such as Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner, and other members of the Kardashian clan, along with multiple individuals who had previously enjoyed private flight experiences.
Winfrey, a dear friend of King, shed tears as the capsule ascended into space, and the travelers could be heard expressing their wonder at the moon and cheering with delight.
‘What a wonderful world’
After a brief period of weightlessness, as the women fastened their seatbelts, Perry hummed a few verses of “What a Wonderful World,” according to King during a post-launch television interview.
Bezos unlocked the capsule’s door shortly after landing, welcoming Sanchez, who was the first person to exit.
As they exited, Perry and King dropped to their knees and kissed the earth. “Oh my God, that was incredible,” exclaimed King, who often feels nervous during flights.
This was not the initial Blue Origin mission featuring prominent figures.
‘Star Trek’ star William Shatner was captured
a ride to space with Blue Origin
In 2021, at the age of 90, he went up shortly after Bezos’ initial journey. Following him were Michael Strahan, formerly a defensive end for the New York Giants and now a television host, along with Laura Shepard Churchley, who is the oldest child of Alan Shepard, the Mercury astronaut for whom the spacecraft is named.
Two aviation trailblazers who didn’t get to experience space during their earlier years — Wally Funk and
Ed Dwight
– also departed at ages 82 and 90, respectively.
The majority of Blue Origin’s passengers – totaling 58 after their recent launch – include individuals from business and scientific backgrounds, television personalities, or YouTube content creators. The cost of tickets has not been made public.
Tourist space flights
The Russian Space Agency has also sent several space tourists into orbit, starting with a Californian financier back in 2001. Fast forward two decades, and this trend continues.
Russian actress filmed
onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Elon Musk’s company SpaceX also offers extended journeys for individual clients. The firm’s inaugural customer to venture into space, wealthy technology pioneer Jared Isaacman, has already embarked on two missions and conducted the initial privately-funded spacewalk.
If approved by the US Senate, he is poised to take over as the next head of NASA.
Chinese-born Bitcoin investor Chun Wang recently completed his journey on the inaugural spaceflight carrying passengers.
the Arctic and Antarctic regions
.
Wang covered the entire bill for SpaceX himself and three polar explorers for an unspecified amount.
“During this thrilling new chapter of commercial space travel, the aspiration of joining the ranks of astronauts is no longer restricted to just a chosen handful,” Wang stated through X last week.