Blue Origin on Monday made a successful launch of an all-female crew aboard its New Shepard suborbital rocket — a mission that featured pop superstar Katy Perry and veteran journalist Gayle King among the six women onboard.

The launch, which took place at approximately 9:30 a.m. ET from the company’s private facility in West Texas, marked the 11th crewed flight for Blue Origin’s reusable spacecraft and a milestone in space tourism and gender representation.

Only about 15 per cent of the more than 700 people who have traveled to space historically have been women, making Monday’s event both symbolic and significant in the evolving landscape of commercial spaceflight.

Blue Origin began live coverage of the event at 8 a.m. ET, drawing viewers from around the world. According to official figures released by the company, the capsule soared to a peak altitude of: 346,802 feet above ground level and 350,449 feet above mean sea level.

This puts the crew well past the Kármán line — the 100-kilometer boundary that typically marks the edge of space.

The full mission lasted approximately 10 minutes and 30 seconds, with the capsule landing safely at 9:40 a.m. ET.

Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp, a former Amazon executive who took the reins in 2023, was present for the launch and later posted a photo with the entire crew. Under Limp’s leadership, Blue Origin has expanded its portfolio beyond New Shepard to include New Glenn and others.