Tech tycoon Jeff Bezos sent his fiancée Lauren Sanchez into space aboard his firm Blue Origin’s rocket on Monday alongside an all-women star team. Katy Perry and Gayle King.
This represented the newest trend in space tourism, with an increasing number of wealthy and celebrity individuals—alongside those who were either fortunate or well-networked—gaining access to the weightless environment historically reserved for career astronauts.
The New Shepard rocket took off for the brief up-and-down journey from West Texas. About 105 km above, the edges of space called out, offering a fleeting period of zero gravity.
Sanchez, who is a helicopter pilot as well as a previous TV news reporter, extended an invitation to everyone for the 10-minute, completely automated journey. He added some celebrity appeal with singer-songwriter Perry and CBS Mornings co-host King joining them.
Additionally accompanying them were film producer Kerianne Flynn; Aisha Bowe, a former NASA engineer who founded businesses aimed at boosting science education; along with Amanda Nguyen, a scientist whose research focused on exoplanets before she became an advocate for sexual assault survivors.
Blue Origin refused to disclose the price of the flight or reveal who covered the costs. This journey occurred two months prior to Sanchez and Bezos getting married in Venice.
Just the second female-only team in history
This marked the 11th time humans have flown through the space program of this Washington-state headquartered firm, which Bezos established in the year 2000 following his financial success with Amazon.
Bezos secured his seat for Blue Origin’s inaugural space tourism flight in 2021 and joined the newest team of astronauts at the launchpad.
The star-studded launch marked the country's inaugural space mission with women occupying every position. Prior to this, the sole other fully female crew had been in 1963, making it just the second such team in over six decades of human space travel.
It was then that Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova embarked on her journey alone, thus becoming the first female astronaut in space. Tereshkova remained in orbit for three days.
Despite the recent launch, women make up less than 15 percent of over 700 individuals who have journeyed into space.
Sanchez mentioned that she intentionally selected women to join her, all of whom were keen on motivating both the younger and older generations to aim high. She also had custom flight suits made for this purpose.
"It marks a significant moment for the future of commercial space travel and for humanity as a whole, particularly for women everywhere," Perry said to The Associated Press last week.
The event attracted notable guests such as Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner, and other members of the Kardashian clan to West Texas. Also present were multiple individuals who had previously enjoyed private flight experiences.
Winfrey, who was a close confidant of King, shed tears as the capsule ascended into space. The passengers could be heard expressing awe at the sight of the moon and cheering with delight.
'What a wonderful world'
After a brief period of weightlessness, as the women fastened their seatbelts, Perry hummed some lines from "What a Wonderful World," according to King during a televised interview following the launch.
Bezos unlocked the capsule's door shortly after landing, greeting Sanchez who was the first person to emerge.
When they arrived, Perry and King got down on their knees and kissed the earth. "Oh my God, that was incredible," exclaimed King, who often feels nervous during flights.
This isn't the inaugural Blue Origin mission featuring prominent figures.
'Star Trek' star William Shatner was captured a ride to space aboard Blue Origin In 2021, at the age of 90, he went shortly after Jeff Bezos' first space flight. Following him were Michael Strahan, a former New York Giants defensive end and television personality, 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 soared off at ages 82 and 90, respectively.
The majority of Blue Origin's travelers – which now total 58 following their recent launch – include individuals from the realms of business, science, television personalities, or YouTube creators. Details about ticket costs remain undisclosed.
Tourist space flights
The Russian Space Agency has also sent several space tourists into orbit, starting with a Californian businessman back in 2001. Fast forward two decades, and we have seen significant developments since then. Russian actress filmed onboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Elon Musk’s SpaceX also offers extended journeys for individual clients. The company's inaugural customer to venture into space, tech tycoon Jared Isaacman, has already embarked on two missions and conducted the first privately funded spacewalk.
If approved by the US Senate, he is poised to take over as NASA's next administrator.
Chun Wang, a Bitcoin investor originally from China, has recently come back from the inaugural space voyage to transport civilians into orbit. the poles in the north and south .
Wang covered the entire SpaceX bill for 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 recently.