TRANSCRIPT
Blue Origin launched an all-female celebrity crew to the edge of space.
Pop singer Katy Perry was on board, along with Oprah Winfrey's best friend, journalist Gayle King, as well as Jeff Bezos’ fiance Lauren Sanchez - a rocket launch with plenty of star power.
"Look at the Moon. You Guys. I don't have to tell you. Look at the Moon. Oh my goddess. Oh my God. Oh my goddess. That's our pink moon. I love you Jeff ..edge of space.
The crew who call themselves 'The Taking-up Space Crew', travelled just over 100 kilometres above Earth, passing through weightlessness for a few minutes, and also experiencing freefall.
They returned to Earth safely after spending 11 minutes in space, Ms Perry getting down on her knees and kissing the ground upon exiting the space capsule.
Even after the latest launch, women represent barely 15 per cent of the more than 700 people who have traveled into space.
Former journalist and helicopter pilot Ms Sanchez says she deliberately chose women to launch with her.
She says the experience changed how she sees the world.
"I don't think you can describe it, because, you know what I'm saying? It was really quiet but then also really alive. And you look at it (the Earth) and you're like, 'we're all in this together.' Like, all I could think about is like, we're so connected. More connected than you realise, because you just see right here, you see like, you know, like states, and all these things that divide us, but we're not."
The trip was Blue Origin’s eleventh human spaceflight.
While most missions include professional astronauts or trained specialists, this one brought together the six women from different walks of life, from science and media to entertainment.
Katy Perry brought a daisy with her, a tribute to her daughter, and said the trip reminded her just how much love she has to give.
"I feel super connected to love. So connected to love. 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."
Gayle King, described herself as a nervous flyer.
She says she never thought she’d be able to do something like this.
"Our instructor, Sarah, my new best friend said, you are my most success story because I've never trained anyone that was afraid to fly or was a nervous flyer. So, I consider you a big success. And I'm so proud of us. I really am proud of me because I never, in a gazillion years, thought I could do this."
The rest of the crew included civil rights advocate Amanda Nguyen, engineer Aisha Bowe, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
Ms Nguyen brought a hospital bracelet with her, a personal promise to herself, marking a traumatic experience in her life.
"After I left the hospital, after my rape kit, I wrote down a promise to myself, never, never give up. I taped it to my laptop and looked at it every day as I fought for my rights. And that was my zero-G indicator, looking at it over Earth. And for me, in that moment, I just want every survivor and every person who's ever had a dream deferred to know that your dreams are valid, that even if your life has thrown you a lot of challenges, you will make it through. And even if your dreams are as wild as going to space, they matter, and you can get there, too. If I got there, you can there, too."
Ms Flynn says the moment gave her perspective, both literally and emotionally.
"It was the most incredible experience of my life, to be up there and see such vast darkness in space and look down on our planet. The Moon was so beautiful and that was like, I felt like that was a special gift just for me."
This was the first all-female crewed spaceflight since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo mission in 1963.
Blue Origin hasn’t said how much each seat cost, but deposits to begin the booking process are listed at A$237,000 [[US$150,000]].
Back on Earth, Ms Perry explains what she hoped the mission would represent.
"I hope they can see the unity that we modeled and replicate that and understand that we weren't just taking up space, we were making space for the future. And for me ... this wasn't a ride, it wasn't a destination, it was a journey and it was a super-natural one."
Blue Origin says on its website it aims to radically reduce the cost of access to space, with its rockets designed for reusability.
Loizos Heracleous, a professor of strategy and organisation at Warwick Business School in Britain, estimates each launch of the New Shepard costs between million A$1.58 million and US$3 million.
He says It will take a long long time before space tourism can be a financially sustainable business available to the public at large.
Australia's first space tourist was Elaine Hyde, a Melbourne physicist and businesswoman.
She flew aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard mission in February of this year, becoming the first Australian woman to reach the edge of space.
