“CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King is getting ready for a life-changing trip to the edge of space on Monday.
King said she’s both “terrified and excited” to step aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket alongside a history-making all-women crew, whom she called fearless and inspiring.
“These women are so badass. …They have such amazing life stories, all that they’ve accomplished,” King said on “CBS Mornings” after her trip to space was first announced.
For some, it’s a lifelong dream come true. For others, it’s a risk they’re willing to take.
“This was never my dream. It was never my dream,” King said. “And somebody said, maybe you need to have new dreams, Gayle.”
King arrived in West Texas ahead of the scheduled 9:30 a.m. ET launch from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One. She told “CBS Mornings” featured host Vladimir Duthiers that she hopes the journey will be an inspiration to somebody at some point in their lives.
Here’s a look at the women expected to join Blue Origin’s upcoming mission, which has a target launch date of Monday, April 14, and what they’ve had to say so far about the epic journey.
CBS Mornings
Gayle King
King, who recently celebrated her 70th birthday, said she’s welcoming the new decade by jumping on the rare opportunity to travel to space — as long as she had the blessing of her family and friends.
“I wanted to open myself up to new adventures and step out of my comfort zone,” King explained.
Despite her nerves, she’s getting excited about the countdown to the big day.
“I’ve made no secret of the fact that I’m very nervous but also very excited,” said King, requesting that people send good wishes and good thoughts moving forward if they see her ahead of the launch. “I’m nervous enough.”
Katy Perry
Pop superstar Katy Perry told “CBS Mornings” she plans to sing a tribute to Earth during her upcoming journey as part of the historic all-women space crew mission.
“I have an idea,” Perry said, discussing her musical plans for the flight. “If I do it, it won’t be about me or for me, it will be for the beautiful Earth that we get to see.”
The Grammy-nominated artist explained that her song choice would reflect the transformative perspective she anticipates experiencing in orbit.
“I think the perspective that we’re all going to walk away from is like, ‘Oh, my gosh, we have to protect our mother,” Perry said.
She said she is still pinching herself that she can be a part of the all-women crew going to space.
“If you had told me that I would be part of the first ever all-female crew in space, I would have believed you. Nothing was beyond my imagination as a child. Although we didn’t grow up with much, I never stopped looking at the world with hopeful WONDER!” Perry wrote on social media in February.
Perry said she wants to be a role model for her daughter.
“I work hard to live my life that way still, and I am motivated more than ever to be an example for my daughter that women should take up space (pun intended). That’s why this opportunity is so incredible — so that I can show all of the youngest & most vulnerable among us to reach for the stars, literally and figuratively. I am honored to be among this diverse group of celestial sisters,” she added.
Lauren Sánchez
Journalist and philanthropist Lauren Sánchez is thrilled to lead the all-women crew.
Sánchez, who is engaged to Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, said the idea emerged shortly after his journey to space.
“When Jeff went up and he came back down, I was so excited for him,” Sánchez told “CBS Mornings.” “Within 24 hours he’s like, ‘Would you ever go up?’ I was like, ‘What?’ I was like, ‘Yes, I would go up.'”
She recalled that in that moment, she proposed an all-women mission.
“In that exact moment, I said, ‘Could I take all women up?'” Sánchez said. “And he goes, ‘That’s a great idea.”
According to Sánchez, Bezos immediately supported the concept, noting that he believed there had never been an all-female flight.
Sánchez said the pioneering spirit of her crew members, saying, “Every single woman on this couch is an explorer. And sometimes we don’t think of women as explorers. But we are. We really are.”
Bezos completed a successful space mission on July 20, 2021, which he called “the best day ever!”
Aisha Bowe
Aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe will become the first person of Bahamian heritage to travel to space when she boards the Blue Origin flight. She said she’s been preparing for this moment her whole life.
“I mean, I started my career thinking I was allergic to math. … And here I’m sitting here, and I’m just like, we are going to space,” Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist and two-time tech company founder, told “CBS Mornings” in early April.
She also gushed about her fellow crew members.
“This crew represents the best in the future of humanity. It’s really space for the benefit of Earth,” Bowe said.
Bowe is excited for the endless possibilities awaiting future generations and is living proof that dreams can become reality.
“I did it because I saw all of you reach for the sky, and I knew it could, too,” she said.
Amanda Nguyen
Civil rights activist and astronaut Amanda Nguyen, who transformed personal trauma into landmark legislation when she drafted the Sexual Assault Survivor Bill of Rights, is also set to make history as the first Vietnamese and Southeast Asian woman in space when she lifts off on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.
“What a historic crew. Each one of my crewmates represents a community. I’m so proud to be representing mine as the first Vietnamese woman in space,” she told “CBS Mornings” in March.
Nguyen discussed her plans to conduct two science experiments during the trip — one on plant pathology in partnership with the Vietnamese National Space Center and the second on women’s health, focused specifically on menstruation.
“Women were barred from becoming astronauts at NASA early on because of menstruation. They didn’t have the data to back that up,” Nguyen, author of the newly released memoir “Saving Five,” explained.
Kerianne Flynn
Film producer Kerianne Flynn will also be among the historic crew. She’s been waiting for this rare ride to space for a while.
“This has been a dream of mine for a very long time,” Flynn told “CBS Mornings.” “It has felt mostly like a personal journey.”
Flynn, who grew up in Michigan, said she spent her childhood gazing at the stars with wonder but never imagined space travel would be in her future.
“I went through my life, my career and never really thought that going up there to be among those stars was a possibility. And now it’s a reality,” she said.
Flynn reflected on meeting her fellow crew members on a video call in March on social media, writing that she was “overwhelmed by profound joy and deep gratitude to be a part of this historic journey.”
Watch live coverage of “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King’s trip to space aboard a Blue Origin rocket on Monday, April 14, starting at 9 a.m. ET on CBS, CBS News 24/7 or Paramount+.
