Singer Katy Perry kissed the ground and held a flower in the air as she returned from her Blue Origin trip to space and revealed she will write a song about the experience.
The 40-year-old sang Louis Armstrong’s What A Wonderful World as she and the six-woman crew, also made up of CBS Mornings presenter Gayle King, former rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, astronaut Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn and Jeff Bezos’s partner Lauren Sanchez, entered space.
A video of the crew was shared by Blue Origin on Twitter showing the six women as they reached zero gravity and were able to float around the spacecraft before looking at the camera and saying in unison, “taking up space”.
Perry is also seen holding a daisy which she later held to the air after emerging from Bezos’s New Shepard NS-31, to honour her daughter Daisy, before kissing the floor, and Bezos then congratulated her to which she replied: “Thank you.”
Speaking after her return to Earth, the Roar singer said: “I feel super connected to love, so connected to love.
“I think this experience has shown me you never know how much love is inside of you, like how much love you have to give and how loved you are until the day you launch.”
PA MediaSpeaking about the tribute to her daughter, Perry explained: “Daisies are common flowers, but they grow through any condition, they go through cement, they go through cracks, they go through walls, they are resilient.
“They are powerful, they are strong, they are everywhere.
“Flowers are to me, god’s smile, but it’s also a reminder of our beautiful Earth and the flowers here, and god’s smile and the beautiful magic that is everywhere, all around us and even in a simple daisy.
“So to really appreciate it and remember it and take care of it, protect it.”
She could be heard yelling “oh my god” as she was blasted into space, after the singer was seen in the rocket as it pulled away from the gantry at the launch facilities in West Texas.
Her fellow astronaut King, paid tribute to Perry’s decision to sing What A Wonderful World in space, saying she wanted to talk about the world, despite her crew urging her to sing Roar or Firework.
Explaining her decision to sing the song, Perry said: “I’ve covered that song in the past, and obviously my higher self is always steering the ship, because I had no clue that one day, I would decide to sing a little bit of that in space.
“But I think that it’s not about me, it’s not about singing my songs, it’s about a collective energy in there, it’s about us.
“It’s about making space for future women and taking up space and belonging, and it’s about this wonderful world that we see right out there and appreciating it.
“This is all for the benefit of Earth.”
PA MediaFollowing a countdown from mission control, flames shot out of the bottom of the craft as it successfully launched into the air and ground crew could be heard saying “looks good”.
As the rocket reached “supersonic” it soared into the skies, while Perry could be heard cheering onboard.
The two craft then separated at 28,000ft as they reached space and Perry was shown the moon.
The crew were briefly unstrapped from their seats and felt zero gravity for the first time, before returning for their descent.
Both craft returned to Earth less than 20 minutes later, as mission control announced “booster touchdown” as the ship descended onto the launch pad, while the astronauts came down cheering in a separate craft with a parachute attached.
A puff of smoke blew up as the crew hit the ground, and Perry’s daughter Daisy could be seen watching on, as safety crews rushed to the ship.
Perry said her experience ranked “second to being a mum” and said that was the reason it was “hard to go”.
She said: “I have to surrender and trust that the universe is going to take care of me and protect me, and also my family, my daughter, because I’m full up from being able to get that gift to be being a mum, and to go to space is incredible, and I wanted to model courage and worthiness and fearlessness.”
The singer said she “couldn’t recommend this experience more” and went on to say that she revealed the setlist for her upcoming tour while on the flight.
Perry began her career in 2001, and has gone on to have five UK number one singles and two UK number one albums.
She is best known for songs such as Roar, Firework, I Kissed A Girl and Teenage Dream.
Last year she released 143, her first studio album in four years.
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