WASHINGTON, DC—Pop star Katy Perry will be the biggest name in an all-female group set to touch the edge of space Monday (Tuesday Manila time), roaring into the cosmos on one of billionaire Jeff Bezos’ rockets.
The “Firework” and “California Gurls” singer will be lofted more than 100 kilometers (60 miles) above the Earth’s surface in a vessel from Blue Origin, the space company owned by the Amazon founder.
Five other women including Bezos’ fiancee Lauren Sanchez will join the flight, slated to blast off from western Texas at around 8:30 am (1.30 pm Tuesday in Manila).
Their fully automated craft will rise vertically before the crew capsule detaches mid-flight, later falling back to the ground slowed by parachutes and a retro rocket.
Monday’s mission is the first all-female space crew since Valentina Tereshkova’s historic solo flight in 1963.
It is also the 11th sub-orbital crewed operation by Blue Origin, which has offered the space tourism experiences for several years.
The company does not publicly communicate the price of trips made possible by its New Shepard rocket.
Lasting around 10 minutes, the flight will bring the passengers beyond the Karman line — the internationally recognized boundary of space.
There will be a brief period when the women can unbuckle from their seats and float in zero gravity.