By
Kelsie Hoffman,
Martin Finn
The countdown until a historic Blue Origin rocket launch, whose crew includes “CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King, is just minutes away.
Prior to liftoff, King spoke with “CBS Mornings” featured host Vladimir Duthiers, revealing how she feels about the opportunity to travel to space, her lingering questions and the support she’s received.
King said she’s “still processing” things ahead of the launch, adding, “I’ll be ready Monday morning, I promise. I will be ready Monday morning. But I still have a ways to go before I’m like, ‘Okay, put me in, coach. Let’s go.'”
She will travel with an all-female crew that includes pop star Katy Perry, journalist and philanthropist Lauren Sánchez, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
The trip will put all of them into an extraordinary category: The number of humans who have ventured into space would only fill about half the seats in a typical Broadway theater.
How to watch Blue Origin’s all-women spaceflight
- What: Blue Origin’s first-ever all-women spaceflightCBS News New York meterologist John Elliott
- Date: Monday, April 14, 2025
- Time: Coverage begins at 9 a.m. ET
- Location: Launch Site One in West Texas
- On TV: CBS television stations
- Online stream: Watch CBS News 24/7 in the video player above, download the free CBS News app or stream on Paramount+
“It is very daunting when you think about the small number of people that have actually done it. I still get very uncomfortable when people say, ‘astronaut,'” King said. “I in no means feel like an astronaut. They said, ‘But, Gayle, if you go to space, you’re an astronaut.'”
King said traveling to space was never her dream, but she considered the opportunity and message it would send.
“There was something about being part of the first female team to me,” King said. “The group of women that they put together is so extraordinary to me that I thought, ‘Wow. Why would I not wanna be a part of that?'”
King, who turned 70 in December, said she never thought this experience would have been possible just 6 months ago.
“I look at some of these young people and say, ‘keep up.’ So I don’t have hangups about 70, and what that means, and what that represents. I just think everybody can define it for themselves,” she said.
King admitted she’s a nervous flier, but looks forward to the moment she achieves weightlessness.
“I’m looking forward to just floating in space, and just seeing what that feels like, and what that looks like,” she said.
She added she still has some practical concerns before liftoff.
“I find myself wondering, ‘How do you get back into your seat after you get out of the seat and you’re floating around?'” King said laughing. “‘How do you get back down to your seat? Is it like swimming back down?’ I’ll learn that in training and try to float with some dignity.”
Astrophysicist Jackie Faherty gave King and Duthiers a preview at the American Museum of Natural History in New York of what she’ll be looking at during the mission.
“You will reach an altitude where the atmosphere gets thinner, thinner, thinner, and then the sky will start to turn dark,” Faherty told King about what she’ll see 62 miles above the Earth.
In a small bag that she plans on bringing with her to space, King has packed a locket from actress Drew Barrymore that has a photo of her daughter and son, a stuffed version of her grandson’s favorite Sesame Street character, Tamir, and a bracelet made by a co-worker’s 7-year-old daughter.
Support for spaceflight
Last week, King was surprised in a special “Talk of the Table” segment that featured a video of well-wishes and advice for her. The early sendoff included messages and advice from actor Tom Hanks, former NASA rocket scientist and tech founder Aisha Bowe, who is joining King on the spaceflight, the “CBS Mornings” family and many more.
Most of all, she expressed her gratitude for her daughter, Kirby, son, Will, and Oprah for their support and encouragement.
“If any of the three of them had said, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea,’ or, ‘I’m worried,’ I wouldn’t have done it. But they were all so excited and enthusiastic for me.”
However, she acknowledged that if they were offered the same opportunity to fly to space, “I don’t think I would go, ‘Yay! You should go,'” though later added she would ultimately be supportive.
Even her young grandchildren have shown their excitement.
“Luca’s 3, so he understands. … He’ll be 4 in September, so he knows Gaila’s going on a rocket ship and he wanted to go.”
King explained they call her Gaila, a combination of Gayle and Gaia, a fitting reference for the surreal moment ahead of her.
“Because it’s … Mother Earth! … I didn’t even think about that,” she said laughing.
King’s message to others
Before the big countdown, King shared a simple message, saying she hopes others watching her and living the moment with her are proud, “To know that I pulled this off that, it’ll be an inspiration to somebody at some point in their lives. That’s what I hope.”
She encourages others to shoot for the stars.
“God can dream a bigger dream for you than you can dream for yourselves. It also tells you what’s possible at this age.”
