CBS’s King, singer Perry, and Jeff Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sánchez will join three others for the 11th human spaceflight slated for spring.
Jeff Bezos’s space
company, Blue Origin, announced its lineup for the 11th human flight of its New Shepard rocket with an all female crew.
In a press
release on Feb. 27, the company named CBS journalist Gayle King, pop star Katy Perry, and Bezos’s fiancée, philanthropist Lauren Sánchez, as half of the crew of six women flying onboard.
Joining them are former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
The fully autonomous
flight—meaning there are no pilots—typically lasts around 11 minutes and takes passengers past the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space.
Every passenger has a window seat in the pressurized crew capsule and will experience several minutes of weightlessness along with views of Earth.
The company
credits Sánchez, who also
serves as vice chairperson of the Bezos Earth Fund, for bringing the mission together.
“She is honored to lead a team of explorers on a mission that will challenge their perspectives of Earth, empower them to share their own stories, and create lasting impact that will inspire generations to come,”
read the release.
In response, Sánchez took to Instagram to
express her excitement for the historic flight, welcoming the group of “fearless explorers.”
“I really see this group as explorers, and storytellers, each of us about to be changed by a remarkable view of our beautiful planet. The countdown starts now!” she
wrote.During a
segment on “CBS Mornings,” King, who recently celebrated her 70th birthday, said she was approached with the opportunity in November 2024 and is using the experience to explore new aspirations at this stage in life.
“I don’t know how to explain being terrified and excited at the same time. It’s like how I felt about to deliver a baby,” King said. “I thought I wanted to open myself up to new adventures and step out of my comfort zone.”
Prior to making her decision, King said she consulted with her children and Oprah Winfrey before accepting a seat on the rocket.
“Once Kirby and Will and Oprah was fine with it, I was fine,” King said. “I thought Oprah would say no, no. She said, ‘I think if you don’t do it, when they all come back and you had the opportunity to do it, you will be kicking yourself.’ She’s right.”
According
to Blue Origin, the mission marks the 31st flight in its history, with 52 people having already blasted off with the program,
including Star Trek actor William Shatner.
The company notes this is the first all-female flight crew since 1963, when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova took a solo spaceflight.
The NS-31 mission is set to launch this spring.
