"CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King soared to space with Blue Origin. Meet the crew she made history with.
"CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King took a historic trip to the edge of space on Monday alongside an all-women crew, whom she called fearless and inspiring.
Journalist and philanthropist Lauren Sánchez led the all-female crew, an idea she pitched to her fiancé, Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, shortly after he completed his own trip to space. King and Sánchez were joined by pop star Katy Perry, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist and astronaut Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
"These women are so badass. …They have such amazing life stories, all that they've accomplished," King said on "CBS Mornings" after her trip to space was first announced.
Here's a look at the women who joined Blue Origin's mission.
Gayle King
King, who recently celebrated her 70th birthday, said she was welcoming the new decade by jumping on the rare opportunity to travel to space — as long as she had the blessing of her family and friends.
"I wanted to open myself up to new adventures and step out of my comfort zone," King explained.
"I've made no secret of the fact that I'm very nervous but also very excited," said King, requesting that people send good wishes and good thoughts moving forward if they see her ahead of the launch. "I'm nervous enough."
Katy Perry
Perry told "CBS Mornings" she would sing a tribute to Earth during the journey. She explained that her song choice would reflect the transformative perspective she anticipates experiencing in orbit.
"I think the perspective that we're all going to walk away from is like, 'Oh, my gosh, we have to protect our mother,'" Perry said.
Perry wrote on social media in February, "If you had told me that I would be part of the first ever all-female crew in space, I would have believed you. Nothing was beyond my imagination as a child. Although we didn't grow up with much, I never stopped looking at the world with hopeful WONDER!"
Perry said she wants to be a role model for her daughter.
"I work hard to live my life that way still, and I am motivated more than ever to be an example for my daughter that women should take up space (pun intended). That's why this opportunity is so incredible — so that I can show all of the youngest & most vulnerable among us to reach for the stars, literally and figuratively. I am honored to be among this diverse group of celestial sisters," she added.
Lauren Sánchez
Sánchez said the idea of leading an all-women crew emerged shortly after Bezos' 2021 spaceflight.
"When Jeff went up and he came back down, I was so excited for him," Sánchez told "CBS Mornings." "Within 24 hours he's like, 'Would you ever go up?' I was like, 'What?' I was like, 'Yes, I would go up.'"
She recalled that in that moment, she proposed an all-women mission.
"In that exact moment, I said, 'Could I take all women up?'" Sánchez said. "And he goes, 'That's a great idea."
According to Sánchez, Bezos immediately supported the concept, noting that he believed there had never been an all-female flight.
Aisha Bowe
Bowe became the first person of Bahamian heritage to travel to space when she boarded the Blue Origin flight. She said she had been been preparing for this moment her whole life.
"I mean, I started my career thinking I was allergic to math. ... And here I'm sitting here, and I'm just like, we are going to space," Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist and two-time tech company founder, told "CBS Mornings" in early April.
She also gushed about her fellow crew members.
"This crew represents the best in the future of humanity. It's really space for the benefit of Earth," Bowe said.
Bowe is excited for the endless possibilities awaiting future generations and is living proof that dreams can become reality.
"I did it because I saw all of you reach for the sky, and I knew it could, too," she said.
Amanda Nguyen
Nguyen, who transformed personal trauma into landmark legislation when she drafted the Sexual Assault Survivor Bill of Rights, made history as the first Vietnamese and Southeast Asian woman in space.
"What a historic crew. Each one of my crewmates represents a community. I'm so proud to be representing mine as the first Vietnamese woman in space," she told "CBS Mornings" in March.
Nguyen discussed her plans to conduct two science experiments during the trip — one on plant pathology in partnership with the Vietnamese National Space Center and the second on women's health, focused specifically on menstruation.
"Women were barred from becoming astronauts at NASA early on because of menstruation. They didn't have the data to back that up," Nguyen, author of the newly released memoir "Saving Five," explained.
Kerianne Flynn
Flynn, who grew up in Michigan, said she spent her childhood gazing at the stars with wonder but never imagined space travel would be in her future.
"This has been a dream of mine for a very long time," Flynn told "CBS Mornings." "It has felt mostly like a personal journey."
Flynn reflected on meeting her fellow crew members on a video call in March on social media, writing that she was "overwhelmed by profound joy and deep gratitude to be a part of this historic journey."
