A terrified Gayle King was seen sobbing as she arrived at the Blue Origin launch site ahead of her trip to space.
The host of the talk show is scheduled to take off into space today on Jeff Bezos’ spacecraft alongside a noteworthy all-female flight team including Lauren Sanchez and Katy Perry.
But CBS Mornings star Gayle, 70, appeared extremely emotional as she prepared for the life-changing trip on Monday morning.
Cameras caught the TV personality breaking down into tears in the front seat of her car as it pulled up to the launch site.
While the rest of the crew were seen smiling big at the awaiting cameras, Gayle was spotted bawling.
She wiped away her tears before giving a small wave to the hoards of fans and press.
Hours earlier, Gayle was seen looking completely terrified in a behind-the-scenes video shared by Lauren.
The clip, which was posted to Instagram by Jeff’s fiancée on Sunday, showed the women visiting the rocket that will take them up to space.
Dressed in matching blue jumpsuits, the ladies wrapped their arms around one another as they all stared up at it.
And while most of the women beamed in amazement, Gayle had a clear look of worry on her face.
‘We love you so much,’ Katy jokingly called out to the space ship. ‘We’re so grateful.’
‘We’re counting on you,’ a nervous Gayle added. ‘Bring us back safe. We believe in you.’
During the brief 11-minute journey, the New Shepard capsule will climb to a height of 62 miles (100km) and pass the Karman Line, a commonly recognized boundary marking the beginning of space.
When the capsule enters a state of freefall, the team will experience around three to four minutes of weightlessness, allowing them to unbuckle from their seats and enjoy the breathtaking panoramic view.
However, they won’t have long to enjoy it, as the capsule will start its return to Earth after just minutes in space before deploying its parachutes and landing safely.
The NS-31 mission is scheduled to launch from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One, about 30 miles north of Van Horn, Texas, at 8.30am local time.
Their journey will be powered by a reusable rocket which will push the capsule into space before detaching and gently guiding itself back to Earth.
The six-person crew also includes film producer Kerianne Flynn, activist Amanda Nguyen, and former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe.
Just days before the trip, Gayle appeared to take a brutal swipe at Jeff, revealing that she has questioned some of his recent headline-making decisions.
Gayle sat down with CBS Mornings colleague Vlad Duthiers last week, where she was asked what she would say to fierce critics who might see the flight as an ad for billionaire Jeff, 61, and his company.
‘Listen, it is troubling for me too,’ she began.
‘There have been some questions and some decisions that he has made that I’ve actually gone, “Huh?”
‘But I think in this particular case, I think this is so much bigger than one man and one company.’
Gayle added: ‘I’ve chosen to separate the two. It’s not a zero-sum game.
‘You can do this one the one hand, and this on the other hand. And both things can be true.’
Amazon founder Jeff has ignited controversy in recent weeks, in part due to his plans to overhaul the Washington Post’s Opinion page to focus solely on support for, ‘personal liberties and free markets.’
The controversial move, announced in February, was immediately met with scores of readers cancelling their subscription in protest as well as a spate of resignations.
Earlier this week, Gayle told DailyMail.com that she will be boarding the space flight with a special collection of stuffed animals for comfort.
She shared: ‘I am not getting my bag together, because what do you put in a bag to go to space?
‘So, I asked my daughter and my favorite grandson, “could you pick out your favorite stuffed animals for me to take into space and keep me company?” So, he’s looking.’
Gayle’s daughter Kirby Bumpus welcomed her son Luca Lynn Miller in 2021, making Gayle a grandmother for the first time.
Kirby became a mother again last May, when she welcomed daughter Grayson with her husband Virgil Miller.
Recently, Gayle opened up about her fear and nervousness surrounding the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
In an interview for ELLE magazine’s April digital issue, she said of receiving the invitation from Lauren: ‘I had a lot of trepidation – I still do.
‘But I also know it’s very interesting to be terrified and excited at the same time.’
The seasoned journalist continued: ‘I haven’t felt like this since childbirth, really. Because I knew childbirth was going to hurt.
‘But it’s also stepping out of your comfort zone.’
