Katy Perry is gearing up for her journey into space.
On April 14, the 40-year-old singer will be flying aboard Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket ship on an all-female mission along with the Amazon founder’s fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, talk-show host Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen.
According to reports, the group’s flight will last 11 minutes and reach 62 miles above the surface to the limits of Earth’s atmosphere. The women will not actually reach orbit.
Per Good Morning America, Perry and her crew will undergo final training sessions at their rocket’s launch site in Van Horn, Texas, a few days ahead of the flight.
KATY PERRY HEADING TO SPACE WITH LAUREN SANCHEZ AND BLUE ORIGIN’S ALL-FEMALE CREW
The outlet reported that the crew will be “fitted in customized flight suits” on their first day of training, which will also see the group becoming acclimated to their flight capsule. Upon entering a test capsule, they will see their designated seats for the first time.
The final training will also include zero-gravity simulation flights for the group to acclimate to the weightlessness that they will experience during their journey. Members of the Blue Origin staff will familiarize the crew with the layout of the capsule, including the location of the cameras and oxygen mask, as well as how to correspond with ground control.
“We want them to be incredibly comfortable with every little thing, even to the point where they’re going to know exactly where each of the cameras is inside of the vehicle, so they can plan out any photos that they want to take and get really ready for what that journey will look like as they go up,” Blue Origin representative Sarah Knights told “Good Morning America” in 2021.
Perry and her fellow crew members recently sat down for an interview with Elle, during which the “Roar” hitmaker revealed how she is preparing for the flight, including her plans to get glammed up by her hair and makeup team before liftoff.
“Space is going to finally be glam. Let me tell you something. If I could take glam up with me, I would do that. We are going to put the ‘a–‘ in astronaut,” Perry said.
The group on the upcoming NS-31 space flight will be the first all-women crew to launch into space since Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova flew a solo mission in 1963, according to Blue Origin.
The other women in Perry’s crew told Elle that the singer wouldn’t be the only one going to space in style.
“Who would not get glam before the flight?!” Sanchez asked, adding, “We’re going to have lash extensions flying in the capsule!”
After King wondered if the lash extensions would “stay on” during their trip, Sanchez assured her, quipping, “Mine are glued on. They’re good.”
“I think it’s so important for people to see us like that,” Nyugen added. “This dichotomy of engineer and scientist and then beauty and fashion. We contain multitudes. Women are multitudes. I’m going to be wearing lipstick.”
Along with preparing her flight day beauty look, Perry told Elle that she has also given some thought to the items that she plans to take on the ride. Each Blue Origin passenger is allowed to bring personal items within a three-pound limit during the flight.
“I’m going to bring something that has life in it just to remind us how precious the Earth is,” she said.
Sanchez shared that she was taking a stuffed animal on the rocket, while King told the outlet she will bring photos and one of her grandson’s possessions, adding that she would like to have musical accompaniment during their journey.
“I don’t even know if we could listen to music, but I like the idea of that,” the “CBS Mornings” host said.
“Well, Katy can just sing up there,” Sanchez suggested.
Flynn pointed out that Perry would make history if she performed during their flight, telling her, “You’d be the first [music artist] in space to sing.”
“I feel like I should,” Perry agreed.
Whether or not Perry will make history by singing on the trip, music has already been a part of the 13-time Grammy Award nominee’s preparations. Perry said that she was compiling a playlist inspired by her upcoming trip that includes tracks by David Bowie, Nicki Minaj, the B-52’s and at least one of her own songs.
“I’m making a space playlist right now, actually. I’m calling it so far the ‘Space Sistas,’” Perry told Elle in a video interview.
“‘Planet Claire’ by the B-52s,” the singer said as she listed the songs featured on the playlist. “‘Starships’ by Nicki Minaj. Hey, girl.”
“Obviously ‘Starman’ by David Bowie,” she continued. “Everybody forgets ‘Intergalactic’ by Beastie Boys, but that thing slaps, especially when we’re going up intergalactic.”
“That’s gonna be amazing,” she added. “And then Daft Punk[‘s] ‘Around the World’ and we were like, ‘Yeah, we’re floating.'”
“And you know, I don’t typically do this, but [Perry’s 2011 hit] ‘E.T.’ Come on. Hello? Here we go.”
During the group interview, Perry also revealed how she reacted when she first learned that she had scored a spot on the upcoming Blue Origin voyage.
“I was like, ‘What am I going to wear?’” she quipped.
However, the “I Kissed A Girl” singer turned serious as she explained that she would be fulfilling one of her longtime dreams.
KATY PERRY CREDITS SPIRITUALITY FOR GETTING HER THROUGH ‘TOUGH TIMES’
“I have wanted to go to space for almost 20 years,” Perry said. “I was investigating all of the possible commercial options. Even when Blue Origin was first talking about commercial travel to space, I was like, ‘Sign me up! I’m first in line.’ And then they called me, and I was like, ‘Really? I get an invite?’”
“And then they told me about it being the first all-female crew,” she continued. “I take pause in those moments and ask the universe to give me confirmations. And I really felt very sure when they sent me the picture of the space pod, because on the front of the pod is a feather, and that’s my mom’s nickname for me.”
“And so I was like, ‘OK, I see it.’
Perry told the outlet that she had another personal reason that fueled her motivation to take the trip.
“I’m flying for my daughter, Daisy, to inspire her to never have limits on her dreams and show her that any type of person can reach their dreams — no matter your background, your ethnicity, your economic situation or your education level,” she explained.
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“She’s already such a big dreamer, and she’s only 4,” Perry said of her daughter, who she shares with fiancé Orlando Bloom.
“But also to inspire a whole new generation and make space and science glam,” she added.
Unlike King, who has expressed her fear and trepidation about the potential risks of their journey to space, Perry is tranquil.
“I don’t have any time to be nervous; I ain’t got time to be worried,” the singer said. “I’m going to feel something when they go, ‘10, 9, 8, 7,’ but until then, we’ve got stuff to do. We’ve got business to handle.”
“We have a saying in our house, ‘Life takes off on the other side of fear,’” Sanchez said, taking King’s hand.
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“Trust me, I’m a little scared too,” the author added.
“Wait, you’re the insurance!” Perry joked as the group laughed.
At that point in the interview, King started to sing the hymn “I Surrender All.”
“We’re going to be singing that all the way up,” Perry said.
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Last Wednesday, Perry shared behind-the-scenes snaps and videos of the group that were taken during their interview with Elle.
“It’s really happening!” she wrote in the caption. “We’ve all met before on a Zoom but a few weeks ago @elleusa brought us together in the same room for the first time! Everyone is as lovely and cool as I imagined they would be — still can’t believe I’m going to space!”
