Audio By Carbonatix
Pop star Katy Perry will blast off into space as part of an upcoming all-women flight on Blue Origin's New Shepherd rocket.
The Firework singer will be joined by Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos's fiancee Lauren Sanchez, CBS presenter Gayle King, former Nasa rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
Blue Origin said this is the first all-women space flight to take place since the Soviet Union's Valentina Tereshkova's solo mission in 1963.
There is no specific date for the launch, but Blue Origin said it would take place this spring.
Katy Perry is scheduled to be on her Lifetimes Tour from 23 April until 11 November, so this trip is expected to take place before that.
"If you had told me I'd be part of the first all-female crew in space, I would have believed you. Nothing was beyond my imagination as a child," Perry said in a statement cited by Newsweek.
The NS-31 mission will be the 11th human spaceflight for the New Shepherd rocket and the 31st in its history. So far, the programme has launched 52 people into space.
A trip on the New Shepard typically lasts about 11 minutes, according to Blue Origin. It is fully autonomous - which means there are no pilots - and takes the passengers past the Karman line, internationally recognised as the edge of space.
Blue Origin credited Lauren Sanchez for bringing the mission together, saying in its press release that 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".
Sanchez first announced her plan to fly with an all-women crew on a Blue Origin rocket in 2023 in an interview with Vogue, saying they were "paving the way for women".
This is the latest group of celebrities to embark on a flight to space.
Bezos himself flew on the company's first manned mission in 2021. Good Morning America's co-host Michael Strahan and Star Trek actor William Shatner have also been blasted into space on one of Bezos's rockets.
Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Galactic, made a trip aboard his company's VSS Unity spacecraft in July 2021. SpaceX founder Elon Musk, however, is yet to make a trip.
Latest Stories
-
Chief Justice pays courtesy call on Education Minister to strengthen institutional collaboration
21 minutes -
BoG Governor is a partisan politician, not an independent Central Bank Governor – Amin Adam
24 minutes -
Akatsi South: 40-year-old man jailed 10 years for defilement, impregnating daughter
27 minutes -
Amin Adam questions BoG Governor over ‘unexplained’ 2024 Gold for Reserves losses
33 minutes -
Japanese delegation backs Ghana’s Economic Recovery and Growth Agenda
41 minutes -
Trade and Local Gov’t Ministers to take turns at Government Accountability Series
45 minutes -
Health Minister orders comprehensive audit of Oti Region health facilities
48 minutes -
Speaker congratulates UG Vice Chancellor on prestigious appointment
53 minutes -
High Court admits Akonta Mining operations manager to GH¢10m bail
54 minutes -
Ashanti Region: 9 arrested over attack on public officers at TweapeaseÂ
59 minutes -
Tema Circuit Court remands two narcotic suspects
1 hour -
US visa pause does not affect short-term travel for Ghanaians – Ambassador Victor Smith
1 hour -
GAF engineers undertake reconstruction works in Jamaica
1 hour -
Security guard remanded for allegedly stealing employer’s GH¢200k
1 hour -
2 cleared as state withdraws charges in $8m romance scam
1 hour
