Photo: Getty Images
Gayle King is headed to space.
On Thursday (February 27), Jeff Bezos' rocket company, Blue Origin, announced that King would embark on a mission to space with five other women, including pop superstar Katy Perry, journalist Lauren Sánchez, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, and movie producer Kerianne Flynn.
"CBS Mornings" announced that its host would be on Blue Origin's next mission using a "Star Wars"-esque font and opening crawl. King, 70, said she had initially declined the trip to space but later changed her mind.
"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."
King will participate in the 11th crewed flight of Blue Origin's New Shepard Rocket. The journey to space will last around 11 minutes, with passengers reaching an altitude of just over 100 kilometers. The suborbital vehicle gives participants a few minutes to experience weightlessness and take in the views of space.
The mission is set to take place this spring, but the exact launch date remains unclear.
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