Singer Katy Perry is going to space: Star joins Blue Origin flight - here's why, when, who with, and how much it'll cost

The ‘I Kissed a Girl’ and ‘Roar’ songstress will be part of an all-female crew on the Blue Origin flight. It was back in February that it was announced that Perry would be joining Blue Origin's NS-31 sub-orbital spaceflight mission, Jeff Bezos' space venture.

She will be part of an all-female six-person squad taking flight for the first time on the New Shepard NS-31 mission. It’s the brainchild of journalist Lauren Sanchez, who has been in a relationship with American tycoon and former Amazon boss Jeff Bezos for more than six years.

Katy and her fellow astronauts are about to make history as the first all-woman space team. It was Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova who became the first women to orbit in 1963, but she did it solo. Svetlana Savitskaya followed in her footsteps in 1982, becoming the second woman in space and also the first woman to take a spacewalk.

The Blue Origin venture will by live streamed so that people can watch the ground-breaking journey from the comfort of their own homes. The space company will provide live coverage of the launch on its social media channels and its website, with coverage beginning 30 minutes prior to launch.

It’s been reported that each of the crew members has been given a three-pound baggage allowance. Perry has said she has picked an item "to remind us how precious the Earth is”, but hasn’t revealed what this item will be.

So, what do we know so far about the rocket launch? Why is Perry going, who else is she going with, what time will she be going, and how much will it cost to get her in to space? Plus, how can you watch the livestream? Here’s the answers to those questions and more.

Why is Katy Perry going to space?

Perry is said to have a fascination with the wider universe, which is why she was interested in going on the trip. She told Elle she has “wanted to go to space for almost 20 years” and wanted to make space “glam”. She also said she will dedicate the trip to her four-year-old daughter Daisy Dove Bloom, who she shares with partner of eight years actor Orlando Bloom.

She also told the Associated Press in that past that she has “always been interested in astrophysics and interested in astronomy and astrology and the stars,” adding at the time that she wanted to “inspire young girls to go”. The star also spoke of her intention to see space herself, saying “I’ll go to space in the future”.

What has Katy Perry said about the space trip?

On Saturday, April 12, she shared a photo on Instagram of her with the rest of crew in their space jumpsuits. She captioned the post: "Happy International Day of Human Space Flight. Forever in awe of the Universe and it’s alignment."

Who else is on the space trip with Katy Perry?

The crew accompanying Perry in to space include Lauren herself, along with scientist Aisha Bowe, bio-astronautics expert Amanda Nguyen, CBS Mornings star Gayle King, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.

How high will Katy Perry go when she travels to space?

Perry and her fellow astronauts will travel to the edge of space, roughly about 65 miles above our planet.

How long will it take for Katy Perry to get to space?

They journey will take an estimated 11 minutes.

How much will it cost to send Katy Perry to space?

It’s been reported that Perry and her fellow crew members have all paid somewhere between £157,000 to £235,000 for their set on the rocket.

Lift-off for the Blue Origin rocket is scheduled for 9.30am ET time or 2.30pm GMT.

You can watch the livestream on the Blue Origin website.