Katy Perry unleashes with the fully female crew on Blue Origin Rocket

Pop Star Katy Perry and five other women should explode in space on the tourist rocket of Jeff Bezos.

The singer will be joined by Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, and the presenter of CBS Gayle King.

The new Shepard rocket should take off from its launch site from western Texas and the launch window opens at 8:30 am, local time (2:30 p.m. BST).

The flight will last approximately 11 minutes and take the crew more than 100 km (62 miles) above the earth, crossing the internationally recognized border of space and giving the crew for a few moments of weightlessness.

Also on board are the former scientist of NASA rockets, Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn.

The spacecraft is fully independent, requiring any pilot, and the crew will not manually make the vehicle.

The capsule will return to earth with a flexible landing assisted by a parachute, while the rocket booster will end about two kilometers from the launch site.

“If you had told me that I would be part of the very first entirely female team in space, I would have believed you. Nothing was beyond my imagination as a child. Although we did not grow up with a lot, I have never stopped looking at the world with a wonder fully!” Ms. Perry said in an article on social networks.

Blue Origin says that the last fully female space flight was over 60 years ago when the Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel in the space on a solo mission aboard the Vostok 6 spacecraft.

Since then, there has been no other entirely female space flight, but women have made many important contributions.

Blue Origin is a private space company founded in 2000 by Bezos, the billionaire entrepreneur who also launched Amazon.

Although Blue Origin has not published the full price of tickets, a deposit of $ 150,000 (£ 114,575.85) is necessary to reserve a seat – under the end of the exclusivity of these first flights.

In addition to its suborbital tourism activities, the company also develops a long -term space infrastructure, including reusable rockets and lunar landing systems.

The new Shepard rocket is designed to be fully reusable and its booster returns to the launch ramp for vertical landings after each flight, which reduces overall costs.

According to American law, astronauts must undergo complete training for their specific roles.

Blue Origin indicates that its new Shepard passengers are formed over two days by focusing on physical form, emergency protocols, details on safety measures and zero gravity procedures.

In addition, two support members are called Seven crew members: one provides continuous advice to astronauts, while the other maintains the communication of the control room during the mission.

The rise of space tourism has aroused criticism that it is too exclusive and damaging to the environment.

Supporters argue that private companies accelerate innovation and make space more accessible.

Professor Brian Cox told the BBC in 2024: “Our civilization must extend beyond our planet for many reasons”, and believes that the collaboration between NASA and commercial enterprises is a positive step.

But criticisms raise important environmental concerns.

They say that as more and more rockets are launched, the risks of harming the ozone layer increases.

A study in 2022 of Professor Eloise Marais of the University College of London revealed that Rocket Sutot in the upper atmosphere has a warming effect which is 500 times higher than that of liberation by planes closer to the earth.

The high cost of space tourism makes it inaccessible to most people, with these expensive missions out of reach for the majority.

Critics, including actress Olivia Munn, questioned the optics of this particular company, noting “there are many people who cannot even afford eggs”, during an appearance today with Jenna & Friends.

Astronaut Tim Peake defended the value of travel in human space, in particular in relation to approach global problems such as climate change.

At the Cop26 CLIMATE in Glasgow, Peake expressed his disappointment that the exploration of space was increasingly considered a pursuit for the rich, declaring: “I am personally a fan of the use of space for science and for the good of everyone on earth, so in this regard, I feel disappointed that space is embarrassed with this brush.”

Additonal report by Victoria Gill and Kate Stephens, Climate and Science of the BBC.