Katy Perry was one of six female astronauts to go to space on April 14 on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket and capsule. Before liftoff took place at 9:30 am EST, Perry told the media she planned on singing while she was in space. But what song did Katy Perry sing in space? It wasn’t one of her own.
During the flight, which lasted about 10 minutes, Katy Perry sang “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. Why did she choose to sing it? Perry told Blue Origin after the flight, “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 of that in space,” she said. “It’s not about me. It’s not about singing my songs. It’s about a collective energy in there. It’s about us, and it’s making space for future women, and taking up space, and belonging. It’s about this wonderful world that we see right out there, and appreciating it. This is all for the benefit of Earth.”
The flight took off from Blue Origin’s launch site in Van Horn, Texas, and carried six women including Perry, CBS Mornings host Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, activist Amanda Nguyen, and Jeff Bezos’s fiancĂ©e, Lauren Sánchez. The rocket took the crew members just over the Kármán line, an invisible boundary widely known as the “edge of space” at an altitude of 62 miles above Earth. Â
Even though the flight only lasted about 10 minutes, Perry brought a daisy (she named her daughter, Daisy Bloom, after the flower), “to remind us that Earth is precious.” Perry also told fans she was eager to sing in space before departing. “I think I’m going to sing. I’m going to sing a little bit. I gotta sing in space!” she announced in an Instagram post.
Perry said she was going to space for all the fearless women in her life. “This experience is second to being a mom,” Perry told Blue Origin. “I have to surrender and trust the universe will protect me.” She also announced she’s going to write a song about her experience, as she’s preparing to begin The Lifetimes Tour on April 23.
The flight, which featured Blue Origin’s first all-female crew since 1963, landed shortly after taking off. Perry told media after, “To go to space is incredible and I wanted to model courage and worthiness and fearlessness. It is the highest high and it is to surrender to the unknown,” she added. “I couldn’t recommend this experience more.”