Katy Perry Is One of the Celebrities Who Is Going to Space, but When Will That Be?

The headlines about Jeff Bezos have not been super positive as of late, but at least he still has his rockets. Blue Origin, Bezos's rocket company, recently announced that Katy Perry would be joining CBS host Gayle King and Jeff's fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, along with three other women on the company's next journey into outer space.

Following the news that Katy was heading for space, many wanted to know more about when that might actually happen. Here's what we know about when the flight is scheduled for.

Blue Origin announced that the flight would take off in the spring, but has given no more specific date for when it will occur.

For her part, Gayle said that she initially refused the offer but eventually came to recognize that it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, making the announcement using a Star Wars-like typeface.

"I'm so afraid, but I'm also so excited about it. When they asked me, and they asked me around Thanksgiving, I was like, 'No, no, no.' Then I started thinking about it," she said. "And I just thought what a unique opportunity."

In addition to Katy, Gayle, and Lauren, the crew will also include NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, and movie producer Kerianne Flynn, making the entire crew female.

These space flights are brief, lasting roughly 11 minutes, and involve the shuttle, in this case one called New Shepard, just grazing the top of the atmosphere a little more than 60 miles up from the Earth's surface. These shuttles fly without a pilot, and descend back to the Earth's surface after the passengers on board have a chance to experience a few minutes of weightlessness and take a few photos, if they want to.

The shuttle then descends back to Earth aided by three parachutes which ensure that it lands gently. Star Trek actor William Shatner and former NFL player and current TV host Michael Strahan are among the celebrities to have ridden in previous Blue Origin flights, offering celebrities an experience that had previously been reserved for those with some expertise in space flight.

Individuals can purchase tickets on Blue Origin flights, but the exact cost of those flights is unknown. It definitely ranges into six figures, and the text on the company's website reminds potential travelers that the company "will collect a $150,000 USD fully refundable deposit to begin the order process."

It's unclear whether these celebrities are paying for the privilege of riding into space, or whether they were invited to ride for free to promote the existence of the service. Regardless, though, this is not a space ride that is accessible to just anybody. Space travel might be more readily available to the public than at any point in history, but the average person would have to save up for quite a while to book a Blue Origin flight.