Crew lands back on Earthpublished at 14:45 British Summer Time 14 AprilBreaking
The capsule carrying the crew has landed back in Texas.
Just over 10 minutes after they set off, the crew made up of six women is back on Earth.
Summary
The all-female crew of the Blue Origin rocket have been talking about the "phenomenal dream" of travelling into space
Pop star Katy Perry talked about the unity of the six women on the journey, and also explained that she took a daisy into space for her daughter - who is called Daisy
Lauren Sánchez - fiancée of Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos - says she had the feeling that the Earth is "profound" and we need to "protect this planet"
Broadcaster Gayle King says she walked out after the trip thinking she "could do anything", joking that she now might be brave enough to get her ears pierced
Also on board the 11-minute flight were civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and film producer Kerianne Flynn
Watch from launch to landing: All-female crew travels into space
Crew lands back on Earthpublished at 14:45 British Summer Time 14 April
Booster touches down, lands safelypublished at 14:42 British Summer Time 14 April
BreakingJust minutes after the crew blasted off and reached space, the booster of the spaceship has landed back in Texas.
Crew headed back to Earth, as Katy Perry heard singingpublished at 14:39 British Summer Time 14 April
BreakingWe think we heard Katy Perry singing as the flight reached space.
The crew were briefly unstrapped for the seats and felt zero gravity for the first time.
The crew are now back in their seats and the rocket is coming back to earth.
Crew reach spacepublished at 14:38 British Summer Time 14 April
BreakingThe highest point of their ascent inflight has been hit, the crew have passed into space.
Look at the Moon!published at 14:37 British Summer Time 14 April
The capsule will peak 2,300 mph, three times the speed of sound.
The main engine has been turned off and the two craft, the capsule and the booster, will continue their ascent into space.
That's when they will feel the weightlessness and can unbuckle.
We can hear from inside the New Shepard: "Look at the moon!"
Media caption, Watch: Oprah gets emotional and astronauts heard on space journey
Cheers as rocket leaves the groundpublished at 14:33 British Summer Time 14 April
There's excitement in West Texas as the Blue Origin blasts off.
People on the ground are cheering the women as they watch them take off.
Lift off!published at 14:31 British Summer Time 14 April
BreakingBlue Origin’s New Shepard rocket has just soared into the clear skies in West Texas, beginning the 11-minute spaceflight with the all-female crew aboard.
Stay with us as we bring you all the updates.
Watch: Crew board flightpublished at 14:28 British Summer Time 14 April
Here's the moment the six women started to board the New Shepard spacecraft.
Ringing the bell before embarking on a flight is a tradition for Blue Origin launches.
Media caption, Crew ring bell as they prepare to board Blue Origin flight
We're just minutes awaypublished at 14:27 British Summer Time 14 April
There are now less than five minutes to go until the launch window opens for the all-female crew to take off into space.
You can click Watch live at the top of the page to see the 11-minute trip, strap yourselves in.
Female astronauts show up for supportpublished at 14:24 British Summer Time 14 April
As well as the Kardashians, a group of female astronauts have arrived to support the crew before take off.
Emily Calandrelli and Sian Procter are among the group.
Image source, BLUE ORIGINCountdown: 10 minutes to gopublished at 14:21 British Summer Time 14 April
If you're anything like us, you've been watching the minutes tick by ahead of the big moment.
And now, there's just 10 minutes to go before the launch window opens.
Follow along with us here to see the 11-minute journey of the crew into space, just click Watch live at the top of this page.
How much does it cost to go to space with Blue Origin?published at 14:16 British Summer Time 14 April
Victoria Gill
Science correspondentIt isn’t clear how much - if anything - the crew of this all-female flight has paid to be part of today’s mission.
The company, Blue Origin, doesn’t publish a list of prices on its flight reservation page.
In June 2021, Blue Origin auctioned off a seat on its maiden flight and the winning bid was $28 million.
At age 90, William Shatner became the oldest person to go to space when he flew on a Blue Origin suborbital flight in 2021. He reportedly flew as the company’s guest, meaning he didn’t pay for the trip.
If you want to put your name down for a seat on one of these sub-orbital flights though, Blue Origin asks for a $150,000 USD “fully refundable" deposit to begin the order process.
Kris Jenner and Khloé Kardashian make an appearancepublished at 14:12 British Summer Time 14 April
Kris Jenner and Khloé Kardashian have arrived at the site of the launch to show their support.
Image source, Blue OriginCountdown: 20 minutes to gopublished at 14:10 British Summer Time 14 April
Lift off is now in sight.
There are only 20 minutes to go until the launch window opens.
As a reminder, you can follow along by clicking Watch live at the top of this page.
Prayers and a bell: Crew prepare to board New Shepardpublished at 14:07 British Summer Time 14 April
Image source, Blue Origin
Image source, Blue Origin
Image source, Blue Origin
Image source, Blue Origin
Image source, Blue OriginSpace trip is going to change you, Bezos tells fiancé Sánchezpublished at 14:05 British Summer Time 14 April
Image source, ReutersWe're hearing now from Lauren Sánchez, who says her fiancé Jeff Bezos told her she will come back "changed".
Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon and the rocket company Blue Origin, went up to space in 2021.
On the Blue Origin livestream, Sánchez says Bezos came back from the trip "more grounded".
She also said: "He told me that it's going to change me more than I know".
Bracing for blast off - how to watch and follow livepublished at 13:59 British Summer Time 14 April
In Texas, the crew are preparing for blast off and have just begun to board the spacecraft.
As a reminder, the crew consists of Amanda Nguyen, Katy Perry, Aisha Bowe, Lauren Sánchez, Gayle King and Kerianne Flynn.
You can follow the build up to take off right here, just click Watch live at the top of this page from 14:00 BST.
The first first all-female space squad since 1963published at 13:49 British Summer Time 14 April
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, "Long live the world's first female cosmonaut!" says this poster from 1963
This is the first all-female space squad in more than 60 years, since cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to go into space in 1963.
As part of a solo Soviet space mission, Tereshkova - then aged 26 - orbited the Earth 48 times during her nearly-three day expedition.
Photos she took of Earth were used to identify aerosol layers within the atmosphere, the European Space Agency says.
Twenty years after Tereshkova's mission, NASA Astronaut Sally K. Ride became the first American woman in space.
This crew are not the first stars (celebrities) in spacepublished at 13:46 British Summer Time 14 April
Media caption, William Shatner in space: 'The most profound experience I can imagine'
Several stars - as in celebrities - have embarked on New Shepard’s 11-minute space experience, including Good Morning America host Michael Strahan and Star Trek actor William Shatner.
Afterwards, in tears, Shatner said it was "the most profound experience. I'm so filled with emotion about what just happened".
Jeff Bezos, who owns Blue Origin, has also done this very mission - you can read more about that in our previous post.
Separate from New Shepard, English business magnate Sir Richard Branson travelled to the edge of space on Virgin Galactic Unity 22 in 2021, during a test flight for his spaceflight company.
Media caption, Virgin Galactic: Sir Richard Branson's flight to the edge of space (and back)
What is Blue Origin? Jeff Bezos’s venture into spacepublished at 13:39 British Summer Time 14 April
Image source, Blue OriginThe company behind today’s launch, Blue Origin, is owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos.
There are two rockets created by the company, the New Shepard and New Glenn. The former is being used today.
Blue Origin pegs itself on reusability to reduce the cost of accessing space - both spacecraft are indeed reusable.
It was the first company to successfully launch a commercial suborbital flight with paying passengers. This was done in 2021, marking a huge milestone in space tourism.
Bezos was on board for the milestone flight, accompanied by his brother Mark, 82-year-old Waly Funk and an 18-year-old student.