Gayle King is set to embark on a space journey alongside Katy Perry, Jeff Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, and three other women.
Blue Origin, Bezos’ rocket company, announced the all-female crew on Thursday. Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, personally selected the group for the upcoming 10-minute spaceflight from West Texas aboard a New Shepard rocket. The launch is scheduled for this spring, though no exact date has been provided.
Since 2021, Blue Origin has been offering short space tourism flights, with some passengers receiving complimentary seats while others pay significant sums for the experience. It remains unclear who is covering the cost of this mission.
Joining Sanchez, Perry, and King on the flight will be Aisha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist and current engineering firm CEO; Amanda Nguyen, a research scientist and activist; and Kerianne Flynn, a film producer. This marks Blue Origin’s 11th human spaceflight, following its 2021 inaugural mission, which included Bezos and his brother.
Founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin is a Washington-based space technology company known for its suborbital New Shepard rocket and its upcoming heavy-lift New Glenn rocket. The company also develops engines for its own rockets and supplies them to others, including United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur. Additionally, Blue Origin is involved in NASA’s Artemis program with its Blue Moon lunar lander and is collaborating on the Orbital Reef space station.
While Blue Origin has achieved key milestones—such as the first crewed New Shepard flight in 2021 and the delivery of its BE-4 rocket engine in 2023—it has faced criticism for its slower progress compared to SpaceX. In response, the company underwent a leadership change in September 2023, appointing Dave Limp as CEO to replace Bob Smith.
To learn more about Blue Origin and their all-female crew, visit its website here.
