Published:
Readtime: 3 min
Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here.
With an estimated net worth of $350 million, Katy Perry is spending her mailbox money on side quests. The 13-time Grammy-nominated artist decided to hop aboard Jeff Bezos’ oddly-shaped New Shepard rocket and head to space with an all-female crew that included journalist Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, former NASA engineer Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, a scientist who advocates for survivors of sexual violence, and billionaire Jeff Bezos’ fiancee, Lauren Sanchez, who piloted the rocket and organised the trip.
This is the 11th human spaceflight for Bezos’ rocket company, Blue Origin, and marks a significant moment in the history of spaceflight as this is the first all-female crew in 64 years to head into space and the first all-female American spaceflight to do so. Soviet pilot Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space when she launched into orbit in 1963 and spent three days in the solar system.
Hilariously, Khloé Kardashian, Kris Jenner, and Oprah Winfrey (Gayle King’s best friend) were all there to watch the Blue Origin launch. We’re not sure why, but they must be avid rocket spotters.
Blue Origin has not commented on how much the space flight cost or who paid for the trip, but with space just 107 kilometres up, Perry, King, and friends all launched into space on the morning of 15th of April, 2025.
It was Perry who stole the show during the flight, singing out a rendition of “What A Wonderful World” while in space. “I think that it’s not about me, it’s not about singing my songs, it’s about a collective energy in there,” she said after returning to earth. “It’s about us, it’s about making space for future women.”
Meanwhile, Ms Sanchez, who is set to marry Bezos in Venice shortly, commented on how the trip changed her. “It was a feeling of joy and camaraderie,” she said. “All I could think about was we’re all connected, more connected than you realise.”
“Oh my God, that was amazing,” said anxious flyer Gayle King on return.
William Shatner, Michael Strahan, and 58 other celebrities, TV hosts, YouTubers, entrepreneurs, and scientists have all caught a lift to space with Blue Origin. Impressively, Shatner did so at age 90!
The billionaire space race wars are very much still raging, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which continues to sell multi-day trips to private customers. Billionaire tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman has ridden aboard SpaceX twice, and he’s set to become NASA’s next administrator if confirmed by the US Senate. He was the first person to ever perform a private spacewalk.
Meanwhile, Chinese-born Bitcoin investor Chun Wang and three polar explorers just returned from an all-expenses-paid flight that marked the first spaceflight to carry people over the north and south poles. “In this exciting new era of commercial spaceflight, the dream of becoming an astronaut is no longer limited to a select few,” said Wang on X last week.
