Where to watch the broadcast of Katy Perry's flight into space

The crew will be made up of six women, including pop star Katy Perry, TV presenter Gayle King, former NASA employee Aisha Bowe, human rights activist Amanda Nguyen, producer Keriann Flynn and journalist Lauren Sanchez, who is also a pilot and the fiancée of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

The crew members will wear specially designed spacesuits by designers Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim of Monse, emphasising the combination of fashion and science, The Sun reported.

You can watch the text broadcast starting around 8:30 a.m. Texas time (3:30 p.m. Kiev time) on Space.com at this link: https://www.space.com/news/live/blue-origin-mission-updates

And the video broadcast is being hosted on YouTube by the Lake Update Channel.

The flight will last about 11 minutes and will take place more than 100 kilometres above Earth, allowing the participants to experience weightlessness and see the curvature of the planet . It will be the first all-female space crew since 1963.

Katy Perry has expressed hope that her participation in the mission will inspire her daughter and other girls to dream without limits.

However, the mission has drawn mixed reactions. Actress Olivia Munn criticised the flight, calling it "excessive" amid economic hardship for many people. Other critics have pointed out that such flights are more akin to glamorous events than scientific expeditions

Research shows that the stories of female astronauts are often presented as exceptional, which can create a sense of unattainability for most. For example, astronaut Kathryn Coleman wrote about having to adapt to male spacesuits, and Mae Jemison emphasised a sense of purpose for being in space. Such narratives can be inspiring but also alienating, as they do not reflect the journey of ordinary women without privilege

Nevertheless, supporters emphasise that such flights draw attention to space and can inspire young people to pursue STEM careers

For Blue Origin, this is the 11th manned suborbital flight, but the first with an all-female crew.

Blue Origin is actively developing the space tourism sector. Although ticket prices are not disclosed, it is known that the company has already had celebrities such as William Shatner, the actor from Star Trek, on board.

Richard Branson'sVirgin Galactic remains Bezos' main competitor in the suborbital flight market. In the long term, however, Blue Origin plans to launch customers into full orbit, directly competing with Ilon Musk's SpaceX.

Incidentally, in January, the company successfully conducted an unmanned orbital launch of its New Glennheavy rocket-another step toward greater space ambitions.