- READ MORE: Katy Perry and Lauren Sanchez are NOT astronauts, FAA rules say
Surely no rocket scientist on Earth could have predicted that the first all-female spaceflight in over 60 years would in any way involve pop star Katy Perry.
The singer, known for number one hits including 'I Kissed a Girl' and 'Roar', jetted into space on Monday with five other women on Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket.
The all-female crew also included Lauren Sanchez, the soon-to-be wife of Blue Origin boss and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
With them were film producer Kerianne Flynn, engineer Aisha Bowe, entrepreneur Amanda Nguyen and TV personality Gayle King.
Together they blasted off on the quick up-and-down trip from West Texas – lasting just 11 minutes in all.
Aside from being a brave demonstration from Bezos of his rocket's safety capabilities, the trip marked a historic milestone for women in space.
It was the first all-female spaceflight since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, orbited Earth during a nearly three-day solo flight in 1963.
If you were inspired by the mission, here's how to book your own seat on a future trip – although a ticket won't come cheap.
Katy Perry after being aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard NS-31 rocket on a space short mission after taking off from Launch Site One in Van Horn, Texas, USA, 14 April 2025
The Blue Origin NS-31 crew (L-R): Kerianne Flynn, Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Aisha Bowe, Gayle King and Amanda Nguyen
The Blue Origin rocket carrying singer Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez and others, blasts off for space on Monday from West Texas
Blue Origin's elite space programme – so far restricted to the wealthy or well-connected – puts tourists into space briefly and returns them safely to Earth.
It's all part of a new industry known as space tourism, where you don't have to be a professional astronaut to enjoy the profound experience that is space travel.
Monday's trip was the 11th sub-orbital crewed operation by Blue Origin, which has now flown 58 people to space aboard New Shepard, with many more trips to come.
After blasting off, Blue Origin passengers travel at the speed of sound past the Karman line (the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space).
They experience weightless for several minutes and 'witness life-changing views' of Earth before descending gently under parachutes back to the launch location – Corn Ranch spaceport in West Texas.
For those interested, the first step is heading to the Blue Origin website and clicking the big blue button labelled 'purchase your seat'.
The next step is filling out an online form with personal details, including name, email address, phone number, home address and year of birth.
Applicants also need to tell Blue Origin about themselves in 500 characters or less – which may help people get picked if they have a particularly inspiring back story.
Pictured is the interior of the Blue Origin crew capsule. Bezos wants to pioneer commercial space travel, although customers are having to pay several million dollars for the experience
Blue Origin's New Shepard is made up of a rocket and nose cone with room for up to six passengers to travel up to 65 miles above the Earth. The spacecraft is composed of a booster stage and, at the top, a capsule carrying the payload (or the crew, if a crewed mission)
It's perhaps a bold demonstration of the New Shepherd rocket's safety features that Jeff Bezos was willing to send his soon-to-be wife up there with five other ladies
'I feel so connected to love': Katy Perry clutched a daisy during the spaceflight in a tribute to her daughter, Daisy, whose father is English actor Orlando Bloom
The capsule descends under parachutes and lands in a cloud of dust at the same location - Corn Ranch spaceport in West Texas
Blue Origin space farers have to be 18 years or older to make the trip – beloved young family members can't go too.
The firm stresses that filling out the form does not guarantee a seat on a future New Shepard flight.
But regardless of whether applicants make the grade, they may still be charged a hefty deposit fee – at least temporarily.
Blue Origin requires a $150,000 (£113,000) deposit 'to begin the order process', but this is apparently refundable.
Before they submit their form, potential flyers have to click a box that says: 'I acknowledge Blue Origin will collect a $150,000 USD fully refundable deposit to begin the order process.'
However, for those who are selected, Blue Origin will be debiting an eye-watering amount for the full price of the trip. Officially, Blue Origin does not reveal its ticket prices, although a bidder paid $28 million (£21 million) for a seat on the first flight back in 2021.
For the sixth flight in August 2022, It was reported that space initiative MoonDAO had paid about $2.5 million (£1.8 million) for the two seats on Blue Origin flights, or $1.25 million (£940,000) per seat.
On the plus side, no laborious NASA-style months-long training programme is required; according to the company, Blue Origin crew members get fully trained for flight in just two days.
Blue Origin has two launch vehicles, including New Shepard, named for the first American in space, Alan Shepard. The autonomous, re-usable vehicle is powered by a mix of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, which is more eco-friendly than conventional rocket fuel. Pictured, launch of New Shepard on March 31, 2022
Bezos and Sanchez are pictured attending a premiere in Leicester Square, London on August 30, 2022. They are to wed this summer
'Our on-site astronaut training program is meticulously designed to teach everything you’ll need to know for a safe spaceflight,' it says on its website.
'Over two days, you’ll learn about New Shepard’s mission profile, safety systems, zero-g protocols, and execute mission simulations.'
After filling out the form and paying the $150,000 deposit, it may simply be a case of waiting to hear back from the company.
Alternatively, if you have friends in very high places you may be able to get a flight for free as a 'guest' of Blue Origin, like Star Trek actor William Shatner did in 2021.
It's unclear if Katy Perry or any of the other women in the NS-31 mission paid for their spot – although in the case of Sanchez it seems unlikely that Bezos would make his own wife pay for the pleasure, especially so close to their wedding.
Jeff Bezos – who divorced his wife in 2019 following an affair with Sanchez – was aboard the first crewed Blue Origin mission to space on July 20, 2021.
The two space farers are set to marry in a lavish ceremony in Venice this June.
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