Blue Origin, the space company from Jeff Bezos, made history on April 14 by launching an all-female crew into space in their new Shepard Rocket. The mission took a little over 10 minutes and crossed the international accepted space line for 4 minutes. While you might think that the crew for this mission might be trained astronauts, that was not the case. Amongst the six people who sat in the Shepard Rocket was pop star Katy Perry! Keep on reading to discover more about this historic event!
The first female flight crew in 60 years!
Blue Origin made history by sending its first all-female crew into space in an 11-minute mission. During the mission, the crew reached an altitude of 62 miles, around 100km, and crossed the “Kármán line”. This line is the internationally recognized boundary of space, so the crew actually went to space! To reach this altitude, the rocket had to reach speeds of more than 2200mph, or 3540kmh. The flight took a little over 11 minutes before safely landing with parachutes in the West Texas Desert.
This Blue Origin flight wasn’t only impressive for the achievement of reaching space, but it was also the first time in over 60 years that the whole flight crew was female. The last time this happened was when a Soviet astronaut, Valentina Tereshkova, went on a solo mission in 1963. The crew onboard the spaceship was a very unique group of women, including:
- Popstar Katy Perry
- Lauren Sanch, Jeff Bezos’s Fiancée
- Gayle King
- Aisha Bow, an actual Nasa rocket scientist
- Amanda Nguyen
- Kerianne Flynn
These women brought multiple talents into space travel and showcased how women contribute to different sectors and industries.
Katy Perry kisses the floor when she touches the ground again
After the flight, the passengers of the Shepard rocket were welcomed back by their friends, families, and even other celebs like Oprah Winfrey! However, when Katy Perry had her feet on solid ground again, she dropped on her knees and kissed the floor. This reaction has sparked debate as the flight wasn’t that impressive for some people. However, a pop star going to space isn’t normal either so a lot of people understand why she gave this reaction.
