They went, they saw, they retreated. And all made it safely back down to earth, thank goodness. On Monday, April 14 (the 113th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic), Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-31 spacecraft launched into the atmosphere, stayed in zero gravity for 10 minutes, and landed back in West Texas (where the measles outbreak is raging). Obviously, the Titanic and measles aren’t directly related; I’m just trying to keep a tally of disaster-adjacent incidents that would’ve kept a lesser woman from joining the flight (it’s me, hi, I’m the lesser woman). But no, the six-woman, all-female crew — a first for Blue Origin and the first in 60 years for space travel overall — could not be cowed: Katy Perry, Gayle King, Lauren Sánchez, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn completed their mission, all clad in custom Monse space suits. USA Today spoke with the more celebrity half of the crew (and Lauren Sánchez) after they disembarked from their historic trip:
Katy Perry thought of love and her daughter: “I feel super connected to love,” Perry said of her trip to space. “This experience is second to being a mom.” Holding the daisy she took with her on the mission, Perry remarked that she brought that particular bloom because it’s a common plant and it can grow through any circumstances. It’s also the name of her 4-year-old daughter Daisy Dove, who was present at the launch. “This is all for the benefit of Earth,” she said. “I wanted to model courage and worthiness and fearlessness,” Perry added, revealing it was a hard decision as a mom to take that risk but that she needed to “surrender” to the universe.
But it’s NOT about Katy’s career! And she said “of course,” she would definitely write a song about the experience. Perry, who sang a bit of “What a Wonderful World” in space, said the experience was much bigger than her music career. “It’s not about me, it’s not about singing my songs. It’s about a collective energy in there, it’s about us, it’s about making space for future women and taking up space and belonging,” she said, later calling the flight “the highest high.” The pop star also revealed the set list for her upcoming tour while in space, and said she carried with her 300 bracelets to bring back for children involved with Perry’s Firework Foundation, which helps underserved communities connect with the arts.
Gayle King is proud of herself: “I can’t even believe what I saw,” King said. “I’m so proud of me right now.” King has been open about a fear of flying, which is in part why best friend [Oprah] Winfrey encouraged her to go. “The flight instructor said that I am her best success story. Why? Because she’s never had someone go through the course who’s terrified of flying,” King said. She also described the mission as “such a reminder of how we have to do better, be better.” “It’s oddly quiet when you get up there, it’s really quiet and peaceful and you look down at the planet and you think ‘That’s where we came from?’” she said.
Lauren Sánchez can only describe it as ‘quiet’: After touching down, Sánchez embraced Jeff Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin and her fiance, and then went to look for her children. … “The earth looked so quiet. I was just quiet … I don’t think you can describe it. … It was quiet but then also really alive. You look at it and you’re like, we’re all in this together. That’s all I could think about. We’re so connected, more connected than you realize,” she added, saying her overwhelming emotion was joy and gratitude. “I had to come back, I mean we’re getting married,” she joked about her upcoming nuptials. “That would be a bummer for me.” Sánchez is set to wed Bezos in Italy later this year.
“I had to come back, I mean we’re getting married… That would be a bummer for me.” Which is why I posed the question a couple weeks ago whether it was better to book your intergalactic travel for pre or post wedding, Lauren! But the trip went off without a hitch, so I’m still calling it Lauren’s bachelorette party. As for Katy, I love how she declares that this wasn’t about her or her music… after releasing her tour setlist from space and seranading the crew. And while Katy was the one who kissed the ground (and she liked it) upon landing, I would’ve put money on Gayle pulling that move. That woman is scared sh-tless over flying — let alone flying into space! — as evidenced by her emotive face en route to takeoff. After talking her BFF into this extreme fear-coping exercise, Oprah was there on site to support her friend, as were Orlando Bloom and his and Katy’s daughter Daisy, and Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner, who are friends with Lauren (see, I’m not wrong about the bachelorette party vibes!).
I’m thrilled everyone made it back safely, and am looking forward to the next seismic event: finding out if Lauren and Jeff Bezos’ summer wedding ends up sinking Venice.
gayle was fearing for her life i’m crying
pic.twitter.com/FaPaDL0jfo
— 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘆🫧
(@beyoncegarden) April 14, 2025
no wonder they came back so quickly https://t.co/MNTSyTZhyy
— fkajack (@fkajack) April 14, 2025