Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launched his fiancée Lauren Sanchez to space on Monday with an all-female celebrity crew that included Katy Perry and Gayle King.
It was the latest wave in space tourism, where more of the rich and famous than ever before – or lucky and well-connected – can enter the zero-gravity realm traditionally dominated by professional astronauts.
The New Shepard rocket blasted off on the quick up-and-down trip from West Texas. The fringes of space beckoned some 105 kilometres (65 miles) up, promising a few precious minutes of weightlessness.
Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, invited the others along for the 10-minute, fully automated flight, packing on the star power with singer-songwriter Perry and CBS Mornings co-host King.
Also sharing the ride were film producer Kerianne Flynn; Aisha Bowe, a former Nasa engineer who started her own companies to promote science education; and Amanda Nguyen, a scientist who studied planets around other stars and now advocates for survivors of sexual violence.
Blue Origin declined to say how much the flight cost or who paid what. The trip comes two months before Sanchez and Bezos marry in Venice.
