The mission is set to feature the first all-women space crew since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo spaceflight in 1963.
Gayle King is set to embark on a space journey on Monday morning alongside a team of all women, including singer Katy Perry and Lauren Sanchez, who is engaged to Jeff Bezos.
Together with her fellow crew members, the “CBS Mornings” co-host will board Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft for a brief 10-minute space expedition from West Texas. This mission marks the 11th human flight for Blue Origin.
Here’s what to know about the spaceflight:
What time is the Blue Origin launch?
According to the company, the New Shepard launch window is slated to open at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
The spaceflight, named NS-31, will lift off from Launch Site One in West Texas.
How to watch Blue Origin launch?
Those interested can tune in to Blue Origin’s website to watch a livestream of the launch. While specifics about the webcast timing have not been disclosed, coverage of the launch will commence at 8 a.m. ET on Blue Origin’s X page.
CBS will also have coverage of the launch on its network and through Paramount+. The coverage will begin at 7 a.m. ET with “CBS Mornings” and continues with a special coverage on King going to space.
Who is going into space with Gayle King?
Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, picked the all-female crew. Perry, Sanchez and King will be joined by Aisha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist who now heads an engineering firm, research scientist Amanda Nguyen and movie producer Kerianne Flynn.
Blue Origin has flown tourists on short hops to space since 2021, after Bezos climbed aboard with his brother for the inaugural trip; the upcoming trip will be the company’s 11th human spaceflight. Some passengers have received free rides, while others have paid a hefty sum to experience weightlessness. The company declined to comment on who is footing the bill for Monday’s flight.
The news of the upcoming trip has not been without critiques, most recently from actor Olivia Munn, who bemoaned the mission’s cost and publicity. But Perry believes an all-women crew — the first since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo spaceflight in 1963 — has historic ramifications. Only 14% of people who have gone to space so far have been women.
