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

Live Reporting

Edited by Jamie Whitehead and Matt Spivey

  1. Katy Perry: From singing space-themed hits to visiting outer space

    Annabel Rackham
    BBC Culture reporter

    Katy Perry performs at a concert in a golden dressReuters

    When it was announced Katy Perry would be visiting space, many wondered if there was a chance she could perform some songs during the 11-minute trip.

    Whilst it wouldn’t be accurate to say that space is a running theme in Perry’s work, she’s still got plenty of songs that could work if she did fancy soundtracking the mission.

    The obvious is her 2010 hit E.T., with the lyrics “you're from a whole 'nother world, a different dimension,” fitting the brief quite nicely.

    Perhaps the lyrics from her 2012 hit Wide Awake could also fit the bill: “Gravity hurts, you made it so sweet."

    And if you really want to stretch the metaphor, how about Firework? The 2010 track has the lines “as you shoot across the sky” and “boom, boom, boom, even brighter than the moon”, which are all loosely fitting.

    And yes, before you ask, apparently you can see fireworks from space.

  2. 'All systems GO' - Aisha Bowe

    Aisha Bowe in a space suit holding a placard that says her name with the logo of the Blue Origin.Blue Origin/X

    Aisha Bowe, who will soon be heading into space, has shared a photo showing she has passed her "New Shepard Astronaut Training" with 100%.

    Before the flight, she was seen hugging people as she preps for the mission - which is just over an hour away.

    The former Nasa rocket scientist said in a post on social media "All systems GO", adding that she has been "officially certified to fly to space".

    As a reminder, the crew have had to undergo training before today's launch.

  3. What’s the plan?

    A diagram showing the flight path of the New Shepard rocket, which depicts the capsule on top of it separating and going above the 100km Karman Line. The annotations say that first, the capsule and booster take off vertically, then the capsule separates at about 250,000ft/76km and continues to about 350,000ft/106km, next the booster lands about two miles from the launchpad, and finally the capsule parachutes back to desert floor.

    Today’s flight is one of Blue Origin’s commercial missions, aimed at normal members of the public as opposed to astronauts.

    This will be the New Shepard rocket’s 11th human flight, lifting off from Launch Site One in Texas.

    The mission will only last about 11 minutes and in that time, New Shepard will zoom into space at more than three times the speed of sound.

    It will fly past the Karman Line - the internationally recognised boundary of space that is 100km (62 miles) above Earth - and the passenger section of the rocket will separate from the body, and continue, floating weightlessly.

    Those on board will be able to see Earth before the descent back and the passenger section, according to Blue Origin's website, will return under parachutes.

  4. Space tourism vs space science

    Victoria Gill
    Science correspondent

    Space tourism, as an industry, is still in its infancy, so every time a mission launches successfully, it is significant. It demonstrates that these short, commercial flights can be carried out safely.

    But make no mistake, this is tourism, not space science.

    “Is this really space exploration? Of course not,” says Dr Kai-Uwe Schrogl, special advisor for political affairs at the European Space Agency.

    Space exploration has been defined, for the last 50 years, as being carried out by astronauts who undertake missions, including scientific research, for the benefit of humankind.

    In fact, astronauts are defined by a global treaty that governs the activity of nations in outer space, as “envoys of humankind.”

    “A celebrity isn’t an envoy of humankind - they go into space for their own reasons,” Dr Schrogl tells BBC News.

    “These flights are significant and exciting, but I think maybe they can also be a source of frustration for space scientists,” he added. “We see space flight as being for science, knowledge and the interests of humanity.

    “Celebrities do it for amusement but get a lot more attention than the regular astronauts.”

  5. As the sun rises in Texas, the launch edges closer

    New Shepard stands ready as the sun rises.Blue Origin

    Blue Origin says its rocket, New Shepard, is on the launch pad "this beautiful morning in West Texas" in a post on X.

    The company has confirmed the launch window will open at about 08:30 local time (14:30 BST) as planned - so stick with us here as we strap ourselves in for the ride.

  6. What will the crew be wearing?

    Noor Nanji
    Culture reporter

    The all-female Blue Origin crew poses together outdoors at a launch facility, framed by a metallic structure. Clockwise from left: Lauren Sánchez, Amanda Nguyen, Katy Perry, Gayle King, Aisha Bowe, and Kerrianne Flynn. They wear matching blue flight suits with “Blue Origin” on the sleeves and mission patches on the chest, standing confidently.Blue Origin

    The all-female crew will be taking off in style.

    Katy Perry posted a series of photos over the weekend on Instagram, showing herself, Lauren Sanchez and the rest of the women wearing fitted royal blue space suits monogrammed with their surnames.

    She also posted a photo just of herself in the Blue Origin suit, accompanied with the caption: “Happy International Day of Human Space Flight. Forever in awe of the Universe and its alignment.

    The suits are reportedly designed by Sánchez in collaboration with luxury fashion duo Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim of Monse.

    Sanchez told the New York Times that she wanted to“reimagine the flight suit.”

    “Usually, you know, these suits are made for a man. Then they get tailored to fit a woman.”

    She added: “I think the suits are elegant, but they also bring a little spice to space.”

  7. Will the crew actually be in outer space?

    Rocket lifts off from a launchpad on a clear day. There is lots of smoke coming from the bottom of it.Blue Origin

    New Shepard lifting off for a mission on 19 May 2024

    Yes.

    Even though the mission is only about 11 minutes long, the New Shepard will rocket past the so-called Karman line, the internationally recognised altitude for where space begins.

  8. Katy Perry is dedicating the trip to her daughter

    Mark Savage
    BBC Music correspondent

    Katy Perry performing while holding a red and white flagReuters

    All the travellers on today’s flight have different reasons for wanting to go. For many, it’s about changing perspectives.

    Filmmaker Kerianne Flynn says she wants to challenge the perception that “moms don’t go to space” – something one of her son’s classmates exclaimed when he broke the news.

    Civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen is going to honour her mother, a boat refugee from Vietnam, who used the stars to navigate the ocean.

    Katy Perry’s motivation is equally close to home.

    “I’m flying for my daughter, Daisy,” she told Elle Magazine, “to inspire her to never have limits on her dreams and show her that any type of person can reach their dreams—no matter your background, your ethnicity, your economic situation, or your education level.

    “She’s already such a big dreamer and she’s only four.”

  9. The six women on the flight

    Imogen James
    Live reporter

    A compose image with six individual photos of the female crew: Amanda Nguyen, Katy Perry, Aisha Bowe, Lauren Sánchez, Gayle King, and Kerianne Flynn. They all have dark brown hair and brown eyes, except Ms King, who has dark red hair, and Ms Perry, who has blue eyes. They are all smiling at the camera.

    There are six women that are part of today’s all-female crew:

    • Katy Perry: global pop star
    • Amanda Nguyen: a civil rights activist and scientist
    • Gayle King: TV personality and journalist
    • Aisha Bowe: former Nasa rocket scientist
    • Kerianne Flynn: film producer
    • Lauren Sanchez: award-winning journalist, fiancée of rocket owner Jeff Bezos

    Blue Origin credited Lauren Sanchez for bringing the mission together, saying in its press release that she is "honoured to lead a team of explorers on a mission that will challenge their perspectives of Earth, empower them to share their own stories, and create lasting impact that will inspire generations to come".

    To prepare, they have been training in zero gravity, as they have a chance to float when in space.

    All have said however, they will be taking the flight in “full glam.”

    If they can listen to music on board, I recommend ET by Katy Perry - it seems quite fitting (and it is a banger).

  10. The autonomous rocket taking the women to space

    An image showing the rocket with annotations. An annotation on the capsule says the capsule is designed to hold up to six people. The other annotations say the air brakes deploy on the rocket's descent to reduce its sped by half and the engine propels the rocket into space and restarts for controlled landing. An annotation at the bottom of the rocket says the landing gear deploys for touchdown. A line going down the side of the rocket says it is 60ft/18metres high.

    The New Shepard 31 will soon be host to an all-female crew, to carry them on their 11-minute journey.

    Designed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s company Blue Origin, it claims to be fully reusable, and specifically designed for human flight.

    There are no pilots, and the passengers sit in a small, round crew capsule at the top of the rocket.

    Each astronaut gets a window, and a chair, to enjoy the views of space.

    The lower body of the rocket detaches halfway through the flight, deploying its landing gear as it touches back down to earth.

    The capsule stays afloat for a little longer, using parachutes for its descent.

  11. Katy Perry’s interstellar ambitions

    Mark Savage
    BBC Music correspondent

    Katy Perry with a silver scarf around her headReuters

    Katy Perry has a long-documented fascination with space travel, and not just in her music.

    In 2010, she bought her then-fiancé Russell Brand a trip on Virgin Galactic’s suborbital spacecraft. A few years later, she discussed her hopes that humanity could colonise Mars.

    “We definitely need to have a plan B, especially after all we’ve been through lately,” she said.

    When she hosted the MTV Awards in 2017, Perry paid tribute to the ceremony’s “Moon Man” statue by interviewing Nasa astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Peggy Whitson for a pre-show video.

    “You actually walked on the moon,” she said to Aldrin. “Does that technically make you the inventor of moonwalking?”

    “How did you get my number?” he replied, testily.

    Then, in 2017, the star turned up to support the launch of SpaceX’s first manned mission to the International Space Station, saying she “barely slept” as she imagined astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley making their final preparations.

    “I tossed and turned because what’s about to happen is going to make history and be a great day for America and space travel and Nasa and SpaceX. I’m just excited for it to start!”

  12. The countdown begins

    Jamie Whitehead
    Live page editor

    The mission patch, which has silhouettes of the six women's faces around a rocket, and then names of all six crew members around the edge.Blue Origin

    The mission patch features the names of all six crew and symbols representing each woman

    Welcome to our live coverage of the launch of Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.

    We are T-minus 150 minutes until the launch window opens - and hopefully New Shepard will be able to take off shortly after that.

    Mission NS-31 is special because it is the first time since 1963 that an all-female crew has rocketed into space.

    And on board are some familiar faces, including pop singer Katy Perry, US broadcasting star Gayle King and journalist Lauren Sánchez, whose fiancé, billionaire Jeff Bezos, owns Blue Origin.

    From 08:30 local time (14:30 BST) at the launch site in Texas, the take-off window opens.

    Providing nothing goes wrong, we’ll be here to give you live updates on this historic space flight. Until then, our experts are here to help understand the science behind today, and our live updates are about to take off.

    Stay tuned.