Pop singer Katy Perry is set to join a former NASA rocket scientist, a bioastronautics expert, two US journalists and a film producer as part of the first all-female astronaut crew to fly into space since 1963.
The private US rocket firm Blue Origin, headed by Jeff Bezos, has announced the six-person crew for its NS-31 mission, due to launch in spring 2025.
Perry is due to begin her upcoming Lifetimes Tour on 23 April 2025, making it likely the flight will take place before that.
It will be the 11th flight of the New Shepard rocket, which is named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space.
The six-person flight will be the first all-female astronaut crew since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova's solo flight in 1963, which saw her become the first woman in space.
The NS-31 crew includes:
- Aisha Bowe, former NASA rocket scientist and CEO of engineering firm STEMBoard
- Amanda Nguyen, scientist who specialises in the effects of spaceflight on the human body
- Gayle King, journalist and presenter
- Katy Perry, pop star and singer
- Kerianne Flynn, film producer
- Lauren Sánchez, journalist and author
The crew are making the journey into space as part of Blue Origin's private spaceflight service.
Yes, we live in an era in which space tourism is slowly but surely becoming a reality (although, for the moment, it comes at a hefty price).
Blue Origin even has a section on its website for would-be space tourists, including info on how to apply and what's involved in its astronaut training and spaceflight programmes.
So what can the crew expect?
"During the 11-minute journey, astronauts soar past the Kármán line (100 km/62 miles), the internationally recognised boundary of space, experiencing several minutes of weightlessness and witnessing life-changing views of Earth," says a statement from Blue Origin.
"The vehicle is fully autonomous — there are no pilots."
For the moment, that's all the info we have on NS-31. More news when we get it.
Would you travel into space? Does space tourism excite you? Let us know by emailing contactus@skyatnightmagazine.com
