Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched his fiancee Lauren Sanchez to area Monday with an all-female celeb crew that included Katy Perry and Gayle King.
It was the most recent wave in area tourism, the place extra of the wealthy and well-known than ever earlier than — or fortunate and well-connected — can enter the zero-gravity realm historically dominated by skilled astronauts.
The New Shepard rocket blasted off on the short up-and-down journey from West Texas. The fringes of area beckoned some 65 miles (105 kilometers) up, promising just a few treasured minutes of weightlessness.
Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, invited the others alongside for the 10-minute, totally automated flight, packing on the star energy with singer-songwriter Perry and “CBS Mornings” co-host King.
Additionally sharing the journey had been movie producer Kerianne Flynn; Aisha Bowe, a former NASA engineer who began her personal corporations to advertise science schooling; and Amanda Nguyen, a scientist who studied planets round different stars and now advocates for survivors of sexual violence.
Blue Origin declined to say how a lot the flight value or who paid what. The journey comes two months earlier than Sanchez and Bezos marry in Venice.
It was the eleventh human spaceflight for the Washington state-based firm, based by Bezos in 2000 after making a fortune with Amazon. Bezos strapped in for Blue Origin’s first area vacationer flight in 2021 and accompanied the most recent crew to the pad.
The celeb launch was the nation’s first spaceflight the place ladies stuffed every seat. The one different all-female crew in 64 years of human spaceflight was again in 1963. That’s when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova launched by herself, changing into the primary girl in area. Tereshkova spent three days off the planet.
Even after the most recent launch, ladies characterize barely 15% of the greater than 700 individuals who have traveled into area. Sanchez mentioned she intentionally selected ladies to launch along with her, every of them desperate to encourage each the younger and previous to dream huge, and even commissioned particular flight fits.
“It’s an important moment for the future of commercial space travel and for humanity in general and for women all around,” Perry informed The Related Press final week.
The launch introduced out VIPs to West Texas together with Oprah Winfrey and a number of other ladies who beforehand have flown on non-public flights.
This isn’t the primary Blue Origin launch with marquee names.
“Star Trek” actor William Shatner caught a raise to area with Blue Origin in 2021 at age 90, quickly after Bezos’ inaugural journey. He was adopted by former New York Giants defensive finish and TV host Michael Strahan and Laura Shepard Churchley, the eldest daughter of Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard, for whom the rocket is known as. Two aviation pioneers who missed out on area after they had been youthful — Wally Funk and Ed Dwight — additionally rocketed away at ages 82 and 90, respectively.
Most of Blue Origin’s passengers — 58 counting the most recent launch — have been enterprise or science varieties, TV hosts or YouTubers. Ticket costs will not be disclosed.
The Russian House Company additionally has launched its share of area vacationers, starting with a California financier in 2001. 20 years later, a Russian actress filmed aboard the Worldwide House Station.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX additionally sells multi-day journeys to personal clients. SpaceX’s first shopper to fly, billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman already has launched twice and carried out the primary non-public spacewalk. He is now set to turn into NASA’s subsequent administrator if confirmed by the Senate.
Chinese language-born bitcoin investor Chun Wang simply returned from the primary spaceflight to hold folks over the north and south poles. Wang picked up the entire SpaceX tab for himself and three polar explorers for an undisclosed sum.
“In this exciting new era of commercial spaceflight, the dream of becoming an astronaut is no longer limited to a select few,” Wang mentioned by way of X final week.
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The Related Press Well being and Science Division receives assist from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Academic Media Group and the Robert Wooden Johnson Basis. The AP is solely accountable for all content material.
