Katy Perry and all-female space crew land safely back to Earth
Katy Perry landed safely back on Earth alongside an all-female crew after an 11-minute flight into space on April 14th.
The crew were pioneering Jeff Bezos’ new Blue Origin spacecraft, which does not need to be controlled by a pilot. It was the first fully female-led space expedition since a Soviet mission in 1963.
Alongside Perry, the five other women on board were broadcaster Gayle King, journalist Lauren Sánchez, rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
During the 11-minute flight, the rocket passed the Karman line which is the internationally recognised altitude crossing for the beginning of space. After landing back to Earth in a field in Texas, the women were greeted by Bezos before Perry knelt to kiss the ground.
Asked by BBC News what happened during their flight, King said that Perry sang the Louis Armstrong classic ‘What a Wonderful World’, declining requests to sing her own hits like ‘Roar’ and ‘Firework’ as she said: “It’s not about me, I wanted to talk about the world.”
When departing the capsule, King showed her appreciation for being back on land by saying: “I just want to have a moment with the ground, just appreciate the ground for just a second. Oh my god, that was amazing,”
Elsewhere, rocket scientist Bowe said: “I will never be the same,” adding that the world is “beautiful” from space. She continued: “There are no boundaries, there’s no border, there’s just Earth.”
Star-studded celebrity spectators watched from the ground as the rocket took off, including Khloé Kardashian, who explained: “I didn’t realise how emotional it would be. It’s hard to explain. I have all this adrenaline, and I’m just standing here.”
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