Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched his fiancee Lauren Sanchez into space on Monday along with a crew of all female celebrities, including Katy Perry and Gale King.
It is the latest wave of space tourism, and is more rich and famous than ever, or lucky and well-connected – can enter the realm of zero gravity traditionally dominated by professional astronauts.
The new Shepherd Rocket exploded on a quick up and down trip from West Texas. The fringe of space caused a rise of about 65 miles (105 km) and promised a few minutes of precious zero gravity.
Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former television journalist, invited singer-songwriter Perry and co-host King of “CBS Morning” to a fully automated 10-minute flight packed with Star Power.
Film producer Kerianne Flynn also shared the ride. Aisha Bou is a former NASA engineer who started his own company to promote science education. and Amanda Nuguen, a scientist who has studied planets around other stars and is now defending survivors of sexual violence.
Blue Origin refused to say what the flight cost or who paid what. The trip came in Venice two months before Sanchez and Bezos got married.
It is the 11th human spaceflight in the Washington state-based company, founded by Bezos in 2000 after making a lot of money on Amazon. Tied up on the first space tourist flight of Blue Origin in 2021, we took our newest crew to the pad.
The celebrity launch was the country’s first space flight with women filling each seat. The only other female crew member in 64 years of human spaceflight returned in 1963. That’s when Soviet astronaut Valentina Teleskova set up herself and became the first woman in space. Tereshkova spent three days from Earth.
Even after the latest release, women account for just 15% of the over 700 people who traveled to space. Sanchez said she deliberately chose a woman to start up with her.
“This is a key moment for the future of commercial space travel, for humanity in general, and for the women around us,” Perry told The Associated Press last week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hm108lcl3q
The launch has unveiled VIPs in West Texas, including Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner and other members of the Kardashian family, as well as several women who previously flew on private flights. Winfrey, the King’s best friend, wiped away tears as he heard the capsule reach the space and scream at the moon with joy.
As the woman was buckled after a few minutes of weightlessness, Perry sang several lines of “What a Wonderful World,” King said in a televised interview after its release.
Bezos opened the hatch of the capsule minutes after the touchdown and accepted the first one, Sanchez. When they showed up, Perry and King went to their knees and kissed the ground. “Oh my god, that was amazing,” King said.
This was not the original blue origin, including the name of the marquee.
“Star Trek” actor William Shatner caught Blue Origin’s elevator into space in 2021 at the age of 90 shortly after Bezos’ first trip. He was followed by former New York Giants defensive ends and television hosts Michael Strahan and Laura Shepherd Churchley. Two aviation pioneers who missed space when they were young – Wallyfunk and Eddwight – stolen the rocket at the age of 82 and 90, respectively.
Most of Blue Origin’s passengers (58 counting the latest releases) are business or science types, television hosts, or YouTubers. The ticket price has not been revealed.
The Russian Space Agency also launched a share of space tourists in 2001, starting with California financial operators. Twenty years later, the Russian actress was filmed on the International Space Station.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX also sells its multi-day trips to individual customers. SpaceX’s first client has already been launched twice by billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, and has run its first private spaceship. He is currently set to become the next NASA administrator if confirmed by the Senate.
Chinese-born Bitcoin investor Chun Wang returned from his first space flight to transport people to the North and Antarctica. Wang picked up the entire SpaceX tab for himself and three polar explorers for his private total.
“In this exciting new era of commercial spaceflight, the dream of becoming an astronaut is no longer limited to a selected few,” Wang said last week via X.
