Pop star Katy Perry has expressed her excitement about joining an all-female crew for a landmark space flight.
The "Roar" singer will be part of the six-woman team on Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin New Shepard NS-31 mission, spearheaded by journalist Lauren Sanchez.
The crew includes prominent figures such as CBS Mornings presenter Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, astronaut and activist Amanda Nguyen, and movie producer Kerianne Flynn.
Sanchez personally selected the team for this brief but significant journey.
Scheduled to launch from West Texas at 2.30pm BST (8.30am local time) on Monday, the flight is anticipated to last approximately 11 minutes. The New Shepard rocket will cross the Kármán line, the internationally recognised boundary of space, situated 62 miles (100km) above Earth.
On the eve of the launch, Perry wrote on Instagram: “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!”
Alongside the post, she shared a video of the capsule that she has been “training in for the last few days”, and revealed her call name is Feather.
She also said she plans to “sing in space”, and explained where all her other “astronaut girly friends” will sit in the spacecraft.
Perry added: “I do believe this (is happening) because believing your dreams and saying that is actually how you make your dreams come true.”
In another video, the Roar singer said she is “always looking for little confirmations from the heavens, from my guides, from my angels, from my higher self”.
“When I’m looking for it, it’s pretty loud,” she added.
During space training, Perry said she had noticed two unexpected coincidences linked to nicknames her mother calls her.
She said: “When I was invited to come on this voyage, I looked up at the capsule. On the very front of it is the outline in the shape of a feather, and when I saw that it was like a total confirmation because my mom has always called me Feather.
“And so I’m in space training today and there’s a lot to digest. We’re almost finished with the day and they showed us the capsule and we run simulations in another capsule and tested the noise and what to expect and all these different things and they reveal the capsule name.
“The capsule’s name is Tortoise. A wave, just the most energetic wave, just shot through my body. And I was like ‘What? This capsule’s name is Tortoise?’
“My mom calls me two nicknames – Feather and Tortoise. What are the chances that I’m going to space on a rocket in a capsule with my symbol, the feather, called Tortoise?”
She added: “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.”
It will be the 11th human flight for the Blue Origin programme, which has taken passengers including Amazon chief executive Mr Bezos to space since 2021.
Sanchez, who rose to fame as a showbusiness journalist on US TV shows, said the mission is about inspiring others to “dream big”, and praised the women on board as “incredible storytellers”.
The pilot has written a children’s book about astronauts called The Fly Who Flew to Space.
Flynn has produced This Changes Everything (2018), which explores the history of women in Hollywood, and Lilly (2024), about the late employment activist Lilly Ledbetter.
Nguyen has advocated for those who have experienced sexual harassment and been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
King is also known for her work on Oprah Daily, and as host of Gayle King In The House on SiriusXM radio.
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