Katy Perry heads to space: Live Blue Origin launch updates as singer leads A-list crew embarking on historic mission

Here is our live stream of the Blue Origin space mission as the first all-female crew blasts off into space on board Jeff Bezos’ rocket:

Before the launch window opens at 8.:30am (2:30pm UK time) Blue Origin will broadcast a webcast.

Here are pictures of the all-female crew ringing the bell just moments before they boarded the New Shepard rocket to take them to space.

Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Gayle King, Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe and Kerianne Flynn may be just 10 minutes away from heading into space as the launch window opens

Stick with us for live launch updates.

We’ve just heard a final message from Jeff Bezos to the all-female crew as the Amazon founder told them, ‘I want to go with you’.

Bezos, whose fiancee Lauren Sanchez hand-picked the NS-31 crew, said he cannot wait to hear how the experience has changed them.

When you get back, I want to hear how it has changed you. I love you all.

Speaking on the Blue Origin livestream, Sánchez says Bezos returned from his spaceflight “more grounded”.

She said: ‘He told me that it’s going to change me more than I know.’

Predator actress Olivia Munn described today’s Blue Origin space mission with an all-female crew as ‘a bit gluttonous’ in an interview earlier this month.

The mother-of-two discussed the topic during an appearance on Today With Jenna And Friends on Thursday, April 3.

Questioning the mission, Munn said: ‘What are they doing? Like why? You know what I mean? I know that this is probably not the cool thing to say, but there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now.’

While talking to Jenna, Munn then asked, ‘But what’s the point? Is it historic that you guys are going on ride? I think it’s a bit gluttonous and I just think there are – the cover of Elle Magazine? I mean, I don’t know.’

Read the full story here:

The all-female crew have arrived at the launch pad as they prepare to blast off into space.

The women are about to get inside the capsule which will take them on the historic 11-minute spaceflight.

Aisha Bowe was seen sticking her head out of the window as she arrived at the launch site in Texas.

Gayle King was seen crying when she arrived at the launchpad while Jeff Bezos, also dressed in a blue spacesuit, gave his fiancee Lauren Sanchez a kiss on the lips.

Katy Perry has posted a simple three-word message, ‘I LOVE YOU’ as she prepares to blast off into space on the all-female NS-31 crew.

The Firework singer’s latest tweet comes after she penned a message on her Instagram page yesterday.

I’ve dreamt of going to space for 15 years and tomorrow that dream becomes a reality. I am so honoured to be alongside five other incredible and inspiring women as we become the first ever all-female flight space crew!

Jeff Bezos (left) and Elon Musk at Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony

Today’s launch of high-profile women flying to space is intended to keep public interest in Blue Origin’s work, as it battles multiple rival firms in the space tourism field.

Bezos’ top challenger in passenger flights is Virgin Galactic, which offers a similar sub-orbital experience.

But Blue Origin aims in future to bring space tourists into orbit, competing directly with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

The world’s two richest men are using reusable rockets to launch commercial satellites and excitedly talk about a future in which humans go on regular trips to space.

Mr Musk has taken the lead in the race so far with his company SpaceX’s rocket, Falcon 9, completing more than 400 launches.

But Mr Bezos is making significant progress and will help to build further momentum following today’s launch.

In January, Blue Origin’s much more powerful New Glenn rocket successfully completed its first unmanned orbital mission.

Speaking at the time, Dr Simeon Barber, a space expert from the Open University, said:

The billionaire space race had become a one-horse race with SpaceX achieving so much so fast.But we want competition from Blue Origin because that will lead to better rockets… with more regular flights.

The six women taking part in Blue Origin’s historic NS-31 mission – the first in space by an all-female crew – will all be wearing a patch on their spacesuits designed to highlight their personal achievements.

Blue Origin has explained what each of the symbols mean.

• The target star symbolizes Aisha Bowe’s ambition for setting big goals, passion for STEM, and commitment to inspiring future generations.
• The scales of justice symbolize Amanda Nguyen’s efforts to advocate for civil rights, break barriers, and empower everyday people to create change.
• The shooting star microphone represents Gayle King’s commitment to sharing important stories with the world.
• The firework symbolizes Katy Perry’s global influence across music, pop culture, and philanthropy.
• The film reel symbolizes Kerianne Flynn’s passion for filmmaking, storytelling, and crafting beautiful narratives.
• Flynn the Fly, the main character in Lauren Sánchez’s bestselling children’s book, The Fly Who Flew to Space, is along for the ride. The story is about overcoming adversity, inspiring kids with learning differences to pursue their dreams.

Watch the moment Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Gayle King, Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe and Kerianne Flynn posed in their spacesuits on the eve of today’s launch in Texas.

Here is the New Shepard rocket which will launch into space this morning for an historic 11-minute flight.

The launch window opens at 8.30am local time (2:30pm UK time).

Stick with us for the latest updates on the NS-31 mission.

Lauren Sanchez has revealed how she helped design the blue-coloured spacesuits which will be worn during today’s launch.

Speaking to The New York Times last week, Ms Sanchez said she approached Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, the co-founders of the brand Monse, five months ago.

Garcia and Kim are also creative directors of Oscar de la Renta and made her 2024 Met Gala outfit.

Sanchez said the initial conversations were around making the suits more female friendly to wear.

‘Let’s reimagine the flight suit. Usually, you know, these suits are made for a man. Then they get tailored to fit a woman.’

Mr Garcia told the newspaper:

We really didn’t know where to start. There’s no precedent. All the references are men’s spacesuits.

Simplicity was important, and comfort, and fi. But we also wanted something that was a little dangerous, like a motocross outfit. Or a ski suit. Flattering and sexy.

Speaking of the end result, Ms Sanchez said: ‘I think the suits are elegant but they also bring a little spice to space.’

Lauren Sanchez revealed why she is going into space two months before her splashy wedding in Italy with billionaire Jeff Bezos.

Earlier this month, the former TV star told ELLE magazine there is a code the couple live by.

‘We have a saying in our house, “Life takes off on the other side of fear,”‘ Sanchez said of living with Amazon mogul Bezos.

Read the full story here:

One of the six women blasting off into space on board the Blue Origin rocket says she feels ‘justice’ will be served when she launches from Texas.

Amanda Nguyen, a civil rights activist who has helped draft landmark legislation for rape victims, said at the time Neil Armstrong walked on the moon in 1969, bombs ‘rained down’ on her native Vietnam.

Asked for one word to explain how she felt before the historic mission, she replied , ‘justice’.

Speaking to CBS just two hours before take off, Ms Nguyen said:

When my family looked at the sky, they saw death but tomorrow they will see the first Vietnamese woman in space.

And to me that represents that we can achieve whatever it is, no matter who we are or where we come from.

Her words prompted fellow NS-31 crew member Katy Perry to wipe away a tear.

Katy Perry may have declared the all-female Blue Origin crew will put the ‘ass in astronaut’ when they launch into space today – but will they actually become astronauts.

Traditionally, the definition of an astronaut is someone ‘trained for travelling in space’.

But it is unlikely Perry et al will be considered astronauts by the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA or US military which have specified eligibility requirements for people to become commercial astronauts.

In 2021, amid the rise of space tourism, the FAA said any would be astronauts must be part of the flight crew and make contributions to space flight safety in a new tightened definition of the term.

The move was seen as a one that would dampen the dreams of billionaire space explorers like Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson who may not be seen as astronauts in the eyes of the US government.

Posing alongside Lauren Sanchez in her specially designed spacesuit, Katy Perry declared ‘we’re putting the ‘ass’ in astronaut!’

Knowing this flight will secure a place in history as the first all-female crew in space, the six women may also become the first to have their hair and makeup done for a mission.

Sanchez said: ‘Who would not get glam before the flight,’ before joking that fake eyelashes would be ‘flying round the capsule’.

Aisha Bowe said she had already tested out the hairstyle she wants on launch day by skydiving in Dubai, while Amanda Nguyen said she would be wearing lipstick.

I think it’s so important for people to see us like that. This dichotomy of engineer and scientist, and then beauty and fashion. We contain multitudes. Women are multitudes. I’m going to be wearing lipstick.

Katy Perry has revealed how she is ‘psychologically’ preparing for her all-female Blue Origin space mission.

The 40-year-old hitmaker – who recently put on a futuristic display – has been motivating herself by telling herself that she will inspire others, reading the work of astrophysicists, and channeling her ‘feminine divine’ ahead of her space tourism stunt.

Perry spoke with the Associated Press at her Ontario, California rehearsal space on Wednesday, days before she was set to leave for training in Texas.

She said: ‘I am talking to myself every day and going, “You’re brave, you’re bold, you are doing this for the next generation to inspire so many different people but especially young girls to go, ‘I’ll go to space in the future.’ No limitations.”‘

Perry recently told Elle magazine that she was taking part ‘for my daughter Daisy,’ whom she shares with actor Orlando Bloom, ‘to inspire her to never have limits on her dreams.’

I’m just so excited to see the inspiration through her eyes and the light in her eyes when she sees that rocket go, and she goes back to school the next day and says ‘Mom went to space’.

She said in a separate video posted to Instagram that she was shocked to discover during space training that the capsule she will travel in was named the ‘Tortoise’ and decorated with a “feather” design – the two nicknames her parents have for her.

There are no coincidences and I’m just so grateful for these confirmations and so grateful that I feel like something bigger than me is steering the ship.

Katy Perry has given a behind-the-scenes look inside the capsule as she told how she had dreamed of going to space ‘for 15 years’ ahead of today’s launch.

Dressed in her blue space suit she spoke to the camera and gave a tour of the ‘capsule’ where they have been doing their training.

Katy penned in the caption of her post: ‘I’ve dreamt of going to space for 15 years and tomorrow that dream becomes a reality!

‘The Taking Up Space Crew launches tomorrow morning at 7am CT and I am SO honored to be alongside 5 other incredible and inspiring women as we become the first ever all female flight space crew!’

On Thursday, February 27, Jeff Bezos announced an all-female crew would helm the next flight into space of a Blue Origin rocket – the 11th crewed mission of its New Shepard capsule.

The Amazon founder said the mission would make history as the first time an all-female crew had gone to space and the first spaceflight without a man aboard since 1963 when Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova embarked on a solo mission.

The crew was picked by Lauren Sanchez, Bezos’ fiancee.

Sanchez told Elle magazine she chose her fellow crew members because each had ‘proven their ability to inspire others’.

She said all the women will be able to spread the word on what they felt like during the trip, and also expand on ideas of what the next generation of space explorers will look like.

It means after today, both Sanchez and Bezos will have flown aboard New Shepard. The Amazon founder and Washington Post owner took a seat on its first flight in July 2021, describing the experience as ‘the best day ever’.

The 40-year-old singer is one of the world’s best-selling artists with 70 million album sales. The Californian has twice been the highest paid musician, according to Forbes, and is known records ‘Firework’, ‘Roar’ and ‘Teenage Dream’. Once married to Russell Brand, she is now engaged to British actor Orlando Bloom with whom she has a daughter.

Sanchez, 55, is a journalist and New York Times best-selling children’s author who made her name on the Fox Sports Network where she worked as an anchor. She has appeared in films including We Bought a Zoo, White House Down and Ted 2 in which she plays a reporter. In 2018, it emerged she had an affair with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with the couple becoming engaged in May 2023.

King , 70, is best known for being a co-host for CBS Mornings, a breakfast news television programme broadcast every day from 7am to 9am on CBS. A critic of Donald Trump, King remarked ‘I do not see many people of color’, at the presidential inauguration in January.She is also an editor-at-large for O, The Oprah Magazine and was named one of Time magazine’s ‘100 Most Influential People of 2019’.

Nguyen, 33, is a civil rights activist and social entrepreneur who founded Rise, a group aimed at protecting the civil rights of sexual assault and rape survivors. She helped draft the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act in 2016 which gave statutory rights to rape victims and was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize three years later. Will become the first Vietnamese woman to go to space

Bowe, 38, is a former NASA rocket scientist, entrepreneur, and global STEM advocate. She studied for a degree in aerospace engineering following a lifelong interest in science fiction and pursued a career with NASA after being inspired by one of her graduate professors

Flynn, 57, is an American filmmaker known for her work on independent films. Notable projects she has contributed towards include The Automatic Hate (2015), This Changes Everything (2018), and Lilly (2024).

MailOnline’s science reporter William Hunter has broken down how the 11-minute mission could work if all goes to plan on NS-31.

The mission is launched aboard a Blue Shepard rocket, reaching more than twice the speed of sound.

• 02:40 – Booster separation

The booster section detaches and the capsule enters freefall. During this time the crew experienced weightlessness.

• 03:30 – Capsule enters space

At an altitude of 62 miles (100km), the capsule passes the Karman Line and officially enters space.

• 07:30 – Booster section lands

The booster guides itself back to Earth and makes a soft touchdown.

• 11:00 – Capsule returns to Earth

The capsule deploys its parachutes and gently touches down.

Today, Lauren Sanchez, Katy Perry and an all-female crew will soar into space aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin spaceship.

During their 11-minute flight, the New Shepard capsule will reach an altitude of 62 miles (100km) and cross the Karman Line, often used as the boundary of space.

As the capsule enters freefall, the crew will be treated to three to four minutes of weightlessness as they leave their seats to take in the magnificent view.

However, they won’t have long to enjoy it, as the capsule will start its return to Earth after just minutes in space before deploying its parachutes and landing safely.

Read the full story here including a step-by-step graphic of the mission:

Hello and welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage of the historic moment the first all-female crew will blast off into space aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket.

Lauren Sanchez, the fiancee of Mr Bezos, the Amazon founder and one of the world’s richest people, will lead a six woman crew including singer Katy Perry, journalist and TV presenter Gayle King, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, former rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn.

It will be the latest flight of the New Shepard programme, named NS-31, and is aiming to ‘create a lasting impact that will inspire generations’.

The women will take off from Earth inside a reusable self-driving rocket for an 11-minute journey which will see them briefly enter space before returning.

The launch is taking place in Texas at 8:30am local time (2:30pm UK time).

Stick with us for live coverage of the launch including the latest news and video from our science reporters at MailOnline in London and Dailymail.com in New York.