Blue Origin Launches An All-female Celebrity Crew With Katy Perry, Gayle King And Lauren Sanchez

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launched his fiancee Lauren Sanchez to space Monday with an all-female celebrity crew that included Katy Perry and Gayle King .

It was the latest wave in space tourism , where more of the rich and famous than ever before - or lucky and well-connected - can enter the zero-gravity realm traditionally dominated by professional astronauts .

The New Shepard rocket blasted off on the quick up-and-down trip from West Texas. The fringes of space beckoned some 65 miles 105 kilometers up, promising a few precious minutes of weightlessness.

Sanchez, a helicopter pilot and former TV journalist, invited the others along for the 10-minute, fully automated flight, packing on the star power with singer-songwriter Perry and "CBS Mornings" co-host King.

Also sharing the ride were film producer Kerianne Flynn Aisha Bowe, a former NASA engineer who started her own companies to promote science education and Amanda Nguyen, a scientist who studied planets around other stars and now advocates for survivors of sexual violence.