Gale King, Katy Perry, and Lauren Sanchez are part of the group of women set to fly on Jeff Bezos’ Rocket Company’s upcoming mission, as announced by Blue Origins on Thursday.
The company’s New Shepard Rocket is scheduled to make its 11th flight this spring, with no specific date provided by Blue Origin.
Joining CBS Morning co-host King, Bezos’ girlfriend Sanchez, and pop star Perry are former NASA rocket scientist Aishabeau, bioastronautix research scientist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kellianne Flynn.
King shared her journey plans humorously on “CBS Morning”, presenting it with fonts and opening crawls reminiscent of “Star Wars”. Despite her initial hesitation, King, 70, eventually accepted the opportunity and expressed both fear and excitement about the experience.
The New Shepard recently completed its 10th crew flight just outside Van Horn, Texas, with the journey lasting approximately 11 minutes and reaching an altitude of over 100 kilometers (62 miles).
After experiencing zero gravity and the view from space, passengers return safely with the help of parachutes. Previous notable passengers on similar flights include Bezos, William Shatner, Michael Strahan, and Laura Shepherd Churchley.
Named after astronaut Alan Shepherd, the New Shepard first flew with passengers in July 2021. Following a brief suspension from 2022 to 2024 due to a rocket mishap, ticket prices for the experience are high, and a deposit of $150,000 is required to begin the ordering process through Blue Origin’s Ticket Application.
Source: www.nbcnews.com
