Blue Origin continued its space tourism endeavors Monday morning with a brief trip into space with a historic all-female, celebrity-packed crew.
Dave Limp, the CEO of Jeff Bezos’s space company, shared a photo on the social platform X of the team after landing safely in their capsule.
Here’s what to know about the historic flight.
High-profile crew
Pop star Katy Perry, media personality Gayle King, and Lauren Sánchez, Bezos’s fiancée, were among the high-profile travelers aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule and rocket, which was automated.
Former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, film producer Kerianne Flynn and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen also were on board.
Sánchez, a philanthropist and former entertainment reporter, was credited with spearheading the trip.
Above the Karman Line
The women flew nearly 66 miles into space, elevating just above the Kármán Line, considered the boundary of the atmosphere and outer space, before landing back in the West Texas desert, as scheduled.
According to Blue Origin’s official stats on the mission, the crew capsule reached 346,802 feet above ground level, or about 65.6 miles. At that height, the crew was 350,449 feet above sea level, or about 66.3 miles.
While in space, they were able to peer back down to Earth and out to the broader void, while experiencing weightlessness.
Back within 11 minutes
The whole trip clocked in 10 minutes and 21 seconds, according to Blue Origin.
Liftoff happened 9:30 a.m. EDT from Blue Origin’s launch site in Van Horn, Texas. The crew capsule landed back on Earth at 9:40:21 a.m.
Sánchez seeking ‘lasting impact’
Blue Origin explained Sánchez’s role and thinking behind the mission in a statement before it happened.
“She is honored 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,” the statement said.
The company noted that the flight was the first flight all-female space flight since 1963.
Critics call it ‘gluttonous’
Not everyone was supportive of the idea of the trip before its Monday launch.
Actress Olivia Munn called the ordeal “gluttonous.”
“I’m just saying this, I know this is probably not the cool thing to say but like there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now,” Munn said during an appearance on NBC’s “Today with Jenna & Friends” last week.
Blue Origin typically requires a $150,000 deposit per seat for its fleeting space tourists. Other famous names that have headed to space on Blue Origin’s past missions have included Bezos, “Star Trek” actor William Shatner and “Good Morning America” host Michael Strahan.
