Topics: Katy Perry, Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos
The time has finally come - singer Katy Perry and an all-female crew are being launched into space today (Monday April 14) for Blue Origin's New Shepard's 31st mission.
Perry, alongside former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, documentary producer Kerianne Flynn, bioastronautic research scientist Amanda Nguyễn and author and journalist Lauren Sánchez - who's engaged to Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos - will blast off from Launch Site One in West Texas from 9.30am EDT.
The historic flight is the first all-women crew to launch into space since 1963 when Valentina Tereshkova was sent into orbit by herself by the Soviet Union.
Personally, I find it pretty apt that the 'ET' hitmaker is launching into the cosmos - but for others, the news has been totally baffling.
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However, people over on social media have pointed out a major issue with the highly-anticipated mission.
While the trip is advertised as 'space flight,' people are reckoning that isn't strictly the case.
Taking to Reddit, people have pointed out that the flight only reaches the edge of space - with the crew being blasted (62 miles) above Earth, crossing the Karman Line - the 'internationally recognised boundary of space' - and giving the crew only a few minutes of weightlessness.
Whether this constitutes as 'real' space adventure or not, is up for debate.
Despite all the commotion, the entire trip is expected to last only 11 minutes.
And within that time frame, the women are anticipated as spending a grand total of four minutes in actual space - or, rather, the edge of it - before heading straight back down to Earth again.
That's hardly enough time to even bash out one of Katy Perry's songs...
And on that note, Perry said she plans to perform a song for the journey up there - but not one of her own.
She previously hinted she'll be giving a rendition of 'I Surrender All'.
Elsewhere Sánchez told Elle she chose each of the women for the special space mission because of how much of an inspiration they are to others in their own unique ways - all 'storytellers in their own right'.
She said: "They’re going to go up to space and be able to spread what they felt in different ways."
Perry reflected when she first heard Blue Origin was talking about commercial travel to space she immediately wanted to be involved but was surprised she got the 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, Okay, I see it."
Perry sees the opportunity to go to space as part of an all-women crew as a way to not only make space 'glam' but also to 'inspire' a 'whole new generation' - including her daughter Daisy - to 'never have limits on [their] dreams and show [them] that any type of person can reach their dreams no matter your background, your ethnicity, your economic situation, or your education level'.
