Katy Perry and her fellow Blue Origin space capsule passengers are heading into space at 2.30pm in a huge moment for space travel.
She will be joined by Amazon boss Jeff Bezo's fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, as well as TV host Gayle King amongst others for the star-studded flight, which will take off today (April 14).
Prior to departing the earth Katy took to Instagram to give fans a tour of the ship. "I’ve dreamt of going to space for 15 years and tomorrow that dream becomes a reality," she commented alongside the clip. "The Taking Up Space Crew launches tomorrow morning at 7am CT and I am SO honored to be alongside 5 other incredible and inspiring women as we become the first ever all female flight space crew!" As the ladies buckle up for their adventure here is everything you need to know about the space mission.
Who will be on board?
Alongside Katy and Lauren, Oprah's bestie, journalist and broadcaster Gayle King has also secured one of the seats. CEO of technology company, STEMBoard, Aisha Bowe who was previously employed as an aerospace engineer by NASA, will also be joining them. Civil rights activist and research scientist Amanda Nguyen also previously worked for NASA on space shuttle missions so will have plenty to talk about with Aisha. Meanwhile, taking up the sixth spot is filmmaker Kerianne Flynn who has been very vocal about her desire to explore space.
When is the launch and how long will they be in space?
A fortnight ago the blue Origin's Instagram account announced the date and time the ladies would boldly go. "New Shepard’s crewed NS-31 mission is targeting liftoff from Launch Site One in the West Texas high desert on April 14 at 8:30 a.m. Central (13:30 UTC)," it said.
The rocket flies itself and they will ascend toward space at more than three times the speed of sound. The whole experience is short and sweet lasting only around 11 minutes in total. The ladies will be able to float around the rocket and experience weightlessness and check out the views for around four minutes before starting their return. There is no danger they will end up stranded like Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore who were recently rescued after being trapped on the International Space Station (ISS) for nine months due to technical issues with their return capsule.
The company have never confirmed the price for passengers but reported figures ranging from $200,000 to more than $1million. What is known is that potential passengers looking and out of this world trip must submit a deposit of $150,000 for a seat. The company’s website allows customers to reserve a seat, but warns they will have to "acknowledge Blue Origin will collect a $150,000 USD fully refundable deposit to begin the order process," which somewhat rules out the average Joe.
Fireworks singer Katy, who will become the first popstar to go into space, has said she is "psychologically" preparing by listening to the likes of Carl Sagan and watching his 13-part Cosmos docuseries. She said she has also been reading a book on string theory. At her Southern California rehearsal space earlier this week she told Associated Press: "I’ve always been interested in astrophysics and interested in astronomy and astrology and the stars. We are all made of stardust, and we all come from the stars. She insisted she is "really excited about the engineering of it all" and learning about STEM and math. Alongside this she revealed she is stelling herself positive affirmations and reminding herself of the impact this trip will have on the next generation. "II am talking to myself every day and going, 'You’re brave, you’re bold, you are doing this for the next generation to inspire so many different people but especially young girls'."
The six-woman team are wearing form-fitting blue space suits monogrammed with their names. In a surprising additional detail, it has also been revealed the group are wearing Skims underwear, designed by Kim Kardashian.
Lauren Sanchez redesigned the suits to "bring a little spice to space" after working with Fernando Garzia and Laura Kim, the creative directors of Oscar de la Renta and co-founders of the brand Monse.
