Katy Perry is preparing for a journey into space alongside an all-female crew aboard a Blue Origin rocket.

Katy Perry is preparing for a journey into space alongside an all-female crew aboard a Blue Origin rocket.

 Pop icon Katy Perry, along with five other women, is scheduled to embark on a journey into space aboard Jeff Bezos' space tourism rocket.

Accompanying the singer will be Bezos's fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, and CBS host Gayle King.

The New Shepard rocket is set to launch from its site in West Texas, with the launch window commencing at 08:30 local time (14:30 BST). You can watch the launch live on the BBC website.

The flight is expected to last approximately 11 minutes, ascending over 100 kilometers (62 miles) above Earth, thereby crossing the internationally recognized boundary of space and providing the crew with a brief experience of weightlessness.

Also on board are former Nasa rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.

The spacecraft is fully autonomous, requiring no pilots, and the crew will not manually operate the vehicle.

The capsule will return to Earth with a parachute-assisted soft landing, while the rocket booster will land itself around two miles away from the launch site.

"If you had told me that I would be part of the first-ever all-female crew in space, I would have believed you. Nothing was beyond my imagination as a child. Although we didn't grow up with much, I never stopped looking at the world with hopeful WONDER!" Mrs Perry said in a social media post.

Blue Origin says the last all-female spaceflight was over 60 years ago when Soviet Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel into space on a solo mission aboard the spacecraft Vostok 6.

Since then, there have been no other all-female spaceflights but women have made numerous significant contributions.

Katy Perry gave her followers a sneak peek of the capsule she's training to launch aboard the New Shepard, all while in her spacesuit.

She revealed her call sign as "Feather" and showed where her fellow astronauts – the "Taking Up Space" crew – would be and expressed her excitement about singing in space.

Blue Origin, a private aerospace company established in 2000 by billionaire entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, who is also the founder of Amazon, is making strides in the space industry.

While the company has not disclosed complete ticket prices, a deposit of $150,000 (£114,575.85) is necessary to secure a seat, highlighting the exclusivity of its initial flights.

In addition to its suborbital tourism endeavors, Blue Origin is focused on developing sustainable space infrastructure, which includes reusable rocket technology and lunar landing systems.

The New Shepard rocket is engineered for full reusability, with its booster returning to the launch pad for vertical landings after each mission, thereby lowering overall operational costs.

Under U.S. regulations, astronauts are required to undergo extensive training tailored to their specific roles.

Blue Origin states that its New Shepard passengers receive training over a two-day period, emphasizing physical fitness, emergency procedures, and safety protocols for operating in a zero-gravity environment.

Moreover, there are two support personnel known as Crew Member Seven: one offers ongoing guidance to the astronauts, while the other ensures communication with the control room throughout the mission.

The emergence of space tourism has sparked criticism regarding its exclusivity and potential environmental harm.

Proponents contend that private enterprises are driving innovation and enhancing access to space.

In a 2024 interview with the BBC, Professor Brian Cox stated, "Our civilization needs to expand beyond our planet for so many reasons," expressing his belief that the partnership between NASA and private companies is a beneficial development.

Rocket engine emissions release gases and particles that can impact Earth's climate and ozone layer.

On its website, under the heading "Protecting our Planet," Blue Origin asserts, "During flight, the only byproduct of New Shepard's engine combustion is water vapor with no carbon emissions."

Nevertheless, Eloise Marais, a professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Quality at University College London, highlights that combustion at elevated temperatures converts nitrogen in the atmosphere into nitrogen oxides, which are greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

She further notes that water vapor is also a greenhouse gas and is not meant to be present in the upper atmosphere.

"It alters the chemistry of the stratosphere, depleting the ozone layer, and also forms clouds that affect climate," she explains.

Experts warn that as the frequency of rocket launches increases, the likelihood of damaging the ozone layer also rises.

High-cost tourism

The prohibitive expense of space tourism renders it unattainable for the vast majority, with such costly missions beyond the financial reach of most individuals.

Critics, including actress Olivia Munn, have raised concerns about the perception of this initiative, noting, "there's a lot of people who can't even afford eggs," during her appearance on Today with Jenna & Friends.

Astronaut Tim Peake has advocated for the significance of human space exploration, particularly in addressing pressing global challenges like climate change.

At the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, Peake expressed his dismay that space exploration is increasingly perceived as an endeavor exclusive to the affluent, stating: "I personally am a fan of using space for science and for the benefit of everybody back on Earth, so in that respect, I feel disappointed that space is being tarred with that brush."

Observe the final spaceflight of Blue Origin aboard the New Shepard rocket.