Katy Perry kissed the ground and paid a tearful tribute to her daughter Daisy after returning to Earth in the Blue Origin space rocket.
The Firework singer, 40, joined five other women for the first female-only mission into space in more than six decades on Monday, flying through space for several minutes before returning to Earth.
She was filmed stepping out of the tiny Jeff Bezos-funded space capsule in west Texas to cheers and whoops, grinning as she raised a daisy to the sky before kneeling down to kiss the ground.
In the post-flight interview, Perry fought back tears and said she felt “super connected to love” when she was told about four-year-old Daisy’s “proud” expression as she watched her mother go into space.
The US popstar - who shares Daisy with actor Orlando Bloom - held up a small daisy flower that she had brought onto the flight in tribute to her child and because they are “strong,” “powerful”, and “resilient” flowers.
She described her experience in space as “second to being a mum” and explained that it was “hard for me to go” due to her love for her daughter.
Blue Origin launch LIVE: Katy Perry and all-female crew complete historic flight in Jeff Bezos rocket">Follow the reaction to the mission on our live blog.
Perry also spoke about singing Louis Armstrong’s song What A Wonderful World while in space, saying she sang it as her trip was “all for the benefit of Earth”.
She said: “I think this experience has shown me you never know how much love is inside of you, like how much love you have to give and how loved you are until the day you launch.
“It is the highest high, and it is surrender to the unknown, trust, and this whole journey is not just about going to space. It’s the training, it’s the team, it’s the whole thing.
“I couldn’t recommend this experience more. This is like up there with all the different tools that I’ve learned in my life.”
She also explained that she would be writing a song about the experience and revealed the setlist for her upcoming tour on the trip.
Perry was joined in the capsule by chat show host Gayle King, journalist Lauren Sánchez , who is Bezos’ partner, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, astronaut and activist Amanda Nguyen, and movie producer Kerianne Flynn.
It was the 11th human flight for the Blue Origin programme, which has taken passengers including Amazon chief executive Bezos to space since 2021.
Blue Origin Flight NS-31 is the first launch with an all-female crew since Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo space flight in 1963.
The rocket passed over the Kármán line – an invisible boundary 62 miles (100km) above earth - before floating back down to Earth.
Perry and her fellow crew managed to get in some last-minute astronaut lessons on Sunday, according to photos shared online by BlueOrigin.
In a video shared to her Instagram, Perry took fans inside the capsule that she has been “training in for the last few days”, and revealed her call name is Feather.
The tiny capsule featured six seats, where Perry said all her other “astronaut girly friends” will sit, each with their name on it, and a large circle island in the middle.
The Roar singer added: “I do believe this (is happening) because believing your dreams and saying that is actually how you make your dreams come true.”
She captioned the clip: “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!”
