Gayle King & Lauren Sánchez CLAP BACK at Space Trip Haters!

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Gayle King and Lauren Sánchez want others to know that their trip to space was out of this world.

Following their 11-minute space journey aboard Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission, which took them to the edge of space on April 14, the CBS This Morning host and Jeff Bezos’ fiancée addressed the criticism they faced regarding their space voyage.

King stated to People magazine after her return, ‘Those who are criticizing it don’t truly grasp the situation.’ She added, ‘Many of us can discuss the impact we’re seeing among young women and girls regarding its meaning.’

On her end, Sánchez – accompanied by King, musician Katy Perry, rocket expert Aisha Bowe, scientist Amanda Nguyen, and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn on their all-female expedition – expressed that the criticism they faced sparked a great deal of enthusiasm in her.

She expressed to People magazine, “I’d be thrilled if they could visit Blue Origin and meet our passionate team. These aren’t just employees; they pour their heart and soul into this project. They deeply care about their work and the mission, and it holds significant importance for them.

Sánchez went on, “Whenever such remarks are made, my response typically is, ‘Take my word for it. Let’s explore this together. You’ll find it enlightening.’ And indeed, it proves to be quite an illuminating experience.

Prior to embarking on the Blue Origin Space journey, King, Sánchez, and their fellow travelers found themselves under close examination for choosing to join the space voyage. Comedian Amy Schumer, in a playful manner, even poked fun at the mission through social media, sharing a video claiming she was an unexpected participant in this exciting endeavor on Instagram.

She playfully said in a clip from April 14, “Apparently I’m headed to space!” holding a Black Panther toy. “I’ll be taking this trinket with me. It doesn’t hold any significance for me, but it was in my bag when I received the text saying, ‘Would you like to go to space?’ So, I’m off to space.

Previously this month, Olivia Munn voiced her discontentment about the organization’s space journey, labeling it as an extravagant excursion.

She expressed, during the April 3rd episode of “Today With Jenna & Friends“, that it might not be popular to say so, but there are numerous other crucial matters needing attention at present. She questioned the purpose of space exploration, stating that while its intent was to expand our understanding and aid humanity, she wondered what benefits in our everyday lives would result from activities conducted in space.

For more on the all-female crew’s trip to space, keep reading… 

Established by Jeff Bezos in 2000, Blue Origin functions as a private space exploration corporation based in Kent, Washington. As stated on their official website, the mission of this organization is to utilize resources from space to benefit our planet and expand human presence in space through improved transportation methods and the creation of habitable destinations in low Earth orbit.

Blue Origin is dedicated to achieving these objectives by constructing reusable rockets and engines, a move designed to lower the cost of space travel, make it more accessible for average citizens, and foster sustainability. During a speech at the 2016 Pathfinder Awards, Jeff Bezos expressed their vision: “We envision millions of people living and working in space.” He further emphasized their aim to significantly reduce the expense of reaching space by focusing on reusability.

While Blue Origin does not openly publish ticket prices for its flights on their website, they do require a $150,000 deposit from potential passengers.

Named after astronaut Alan Shepard, who made history as the first American to travel in space in 1961, New Shepard is a term Blue Origin uses for their “fully reusable suborbital rocket system designed for human flight.”

This rocket’s pressurized crew capsule can accommodate six passengers. However, unlike traditional rockets, there’s no pilot seat because the vehicle operates autonomously – it doesn’t require pilots.

New Shepard made its debut in 2015 as part of a testing program consisting of 16 successful flights, which were completed in 2021.

In July of that year, New Shepard embarked on its first human flight with Jeff Bezos, his brother Mark, and an auction winner who paid $28 million for the seat. Later in the same year, William Shatner and Michael Strahan were among the passengers who boarded the vehicle (on separate missions).

The upcoming mission, NS-31, will be New Shepard’s 31st overall mission and its 11th with human passengers on board.

The NS-31 mission of New Shepard is scheduled to take off from Blue Origin’s Launch Site One, nestled within the Guadalupe Mountain range in the desert of West Texas, on April 14th. According to their website, the launch window commences at 8:30 a.m. CDT.

According to Blue Origin’s website, astronauts onboard New Shepard rockets climb towards space at a speed over three times faster than the speed of sound. They surpass the Kármán line, the universally acknowledged boundary of space that lies 62 miles (100 km) above Earth, while still buckled in. Once they pass this point, they experience weightlessness and are able to admire our planet. The journey concludes as the crew descends back to Earth under parachutes, taking approximately 11 minutes in total.

 

The team for mission NS-31 comprises singer Katy Perry, CBS Mornings host Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, STEMBoard founder Aisha Bowe (a former NASA rocket scientist), bioastronautics researcher and activist Amanda Nguyen, and former TV anchor Lauren Sánchez. Interestingly, this will be the first all-female spaceflight crew since 1963, when Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union embarked on a solo mission, making her the first woman to journey into space.

Notably, Nguyen is set to become the first Vietnamese woman to travel to space, and Bowe will enter the history books as the first person of Bahamian heritage to venture where only a few have gone before.

Each member of the team has their unique motivations for joining this expedition. For instance, Perry wishes to inspire her daughter Daisy, whom she shares with partner Orlando Bloom, by demonstrating that anyone, regardless of their background, ethnicity, economic status, or education level, can achieve their dreams. King, who has been candid about her apprehensions, aims to motivate people to push beyond their comfort zones. She expressed that once she takes this step, it will pave the way for others who might have hesitated but are now eager to participate. Lastly, Nguyen sees this opportunity as a chance to realize a long-deferred dream. Having worked at NASA and studied astrophysics at Harvard and MIT, life’s obstacles temporarily derailed her, with gender-based violence being a significant factor. After advocating for sexual assault survivors’ rights and passing the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights in Congress and the United Nations, she is now ready to honor her pre-traumatized self by pursuing her passion for space exploration once more.

As reported by Good Morning America, each member of the crew is scheduled to travel to the launch site ahead of the mission, where they’ll participate in training exercises. These sessions will cover various aspects such as getting accustomed to their flight gear, learning about the capsule, mastering communication with ground control, and reviewing safety procedures.

While the crew as a whole has been preparing for this mission, some members like Bowe and Flynn have taken additional measures to ensure they are well-prepared. For instance, Bowe intensified his training over the past year, completed a NASTAR simulation, and scheduled a fighter jet flight. Similarly, Flynn underwent several zero-gravity simulation flights, where a Boeing 747 flies in a parabolic pattern to simulate weightlessness, and participated in NASTAR training in Philadelphia, experiencing up to five Gs of pressure.

Here are a few celebrities preparing for their missions:

* Nancy Conrad, who is married to Pete Conrad, the third man to walk on the moon, has been a mentor and inspiration to Bowe. She gave Bowe the Apollo 12 flag to take with her on her mission. In addition, Bowe will be carrying plant samples from Winston-Salem State University’s Astrobotany Lab as well as dehydrated conch chowder to represent The Bahamas.
* Nguyen is taking along personal items that hold special meaning for her. She told ELLE that she will be carrying shells from the island her mother is a refugee from, and a promise she made to herself after her assault. This promise, written on a piece of paper and taped to her laptop, reads “Never ever give up.” Nguyen also plans to bring the pen that former President Barack Obama used to sign the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Act, as well as seeds from the Freetown cotton tree and a coin from the Nguyen dynasty.

Some stars have conveyed inspiring messages to the crew; among them, Charlie’s Angels actress Drew Barrymore recorded a farewell video for King that featured appearances from Tom Hanks, Megan Rapinoe, Bill Nye, and others. Others, like Olivia Munn, have voiced criticisms. On the Today with Jenna & Friends show on April 3, she expressed concern about the mission’s purpose, stating that there are more pressing issues in the world currently and questioning the high cost of space travel when many people struggle to afford basic necessities like eggs. Munn also questioned the significance of the mission, suggesting it was self-indulgent. King acknowledges the criticism regarding Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin, but she maintains that this particular mission transcends one man and one company, arguing that it’s possible to support both the space journey and other initiatives simultaneously.

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2025-04-15 01:17