Orlando Bloom holds face in hands as he watches Katy Perry blast into space (2025)

Katy Perry made history on Monday, as she became the first popstar to travel to space.

Orlando Bloom proudly supported his pop star wife Katy Perry as she briefly left Earth for an 11-minute journey to the edge of space, joining a pioneering group of women aboard Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rocket.

The 40 year old Teenage Dream singer soared into the skies alongside author Lauren Sanchez, 55, broadcasting icon Gayle King, 70, civil rights advocate Amanda Nguyen, 33, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, 38, and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn, 57.

Their mission represents a historic landmark: the first all-female space crew since 1963 when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova orbited solo. Launching from Blue Origin's West Texas launchpad at 08:30 local time (14:30 BST), the New Shepard rocket transported the six passengers over 100km above sea level - crossing the Kármán line, the internationally recognised boundary of space.

The short but impactful journey included approximately four minutes of weightlessness, allowing the crew to float, view the enormity of Earth through the capsule's panoramic windows, and contemplate their extraordinary experience before parachuting back to terra firma.

As his wife and the mother of his child, Daisy, four, rocketed off to space, Orlando, 48, commended Katy for her once-in-a-lifetime mission. He watched with his mouth agape and hand covering his face, reports the Mirror.

The "Firework" singer was spotted in the rocket as it detached from the gantry at the launch site in West Texas. Following a countdown from mission control, flames erupted from the base of the craft, propelling it into the air.

Mission control voiced their approval, stating it "looks good" as the rocket achieved "supersonic" speed while ascending into the sky, with Perry's cheers audible onboard.

Upon exiting the New Shepard NS-31 rocket alongside the all-female crew, they were welcomed by Jeff Bezos. Katy jubilantly raised her hands before bending down to kiss the ground.

Bezos offered his congratulations, to which she responded: "Thank you."

Katy, who ranks among the most-streamed artists globally with over 115 billion streams, appeared ecstatic to add "space" to her list of accomplishments. Before the launch, she posted a playful update on Instagram, joking that she was about to "put the 'ass' in astronaut" - a humorous reference to the sleek blue jumpsuits worn by the crew, designed by co-passenger Lauren Sanchez.

Blue Origin has released snapshots from the group's final pre-flight activities on Sunday, showing scenes of their last-minute astronaut tutoring. Sanchez and Perry struck a pose in identical outfits, evidently enjoying not only the significance but also the excitement of the occasion.

With this venture, Katy and her spacefaring companions join an elite list; as it stands today, a mere 100 women have officially travelled to space.

Sanchez, an avid aviation enthusiast, shared her wonderment at the opportunity. "If someone would have told me that I would be able to go to space one day, I would have definitely, well, I don't know, laughed," she conveyed in a video posted online.

"I can't believe it's happening. My dad used to teach people how to fly, and I used to hang around the hangar and I thought dreaming of becoming a pilot was a huge deal, and this is even bigger."

Regarding the significance of the mission, she continued, "The incredible women that are going on this flight are extraordinary in all of their fields, but more importantly, they're incredible storytellers. So what I'm hoping for is, this flight is not just transformative for them, but also for all of the people that they tell their story to. Hopefully it sparks that imagination to dream big and reach for the stars."

Blue Origin, the space tourism venture of Bezos, has been providing brief suborbital flights since 2021. While some travellers have forked out substantial amounts for the journey, others - such as Perry and her co-passengers - have been invited to participate.

Bezos himself was aboard the rocket's inaugural flight, accompanied by his brother Mark, heralding this new epoch of civilian space exploration - an era that, as of today, just became a tad more glitzy.

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