Featured Image Credit: Blue Origin
Everyone is noticing the same uncomfortable detail as Gayle King entered the space shuttle.
The TV presenter made history today (April 14) as she took part in the first all-female space crew since 1963.
Other members of the mission who took part in the short space trip included singer Katy Perry, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, and journalist Lauren Sánchez who is the fiancée of Jeff Bezos.
Mission NS-31 set off on its 11-minute trip to space aboard the Blue Origin New Shepard rocket which launched earlier today in Texas.
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REPLAY: A New Shepard tradition pic.twitter.com/dSexRmoZl7
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 14, 2025
And while the women seemed excited to become astronauts ahead of their mission, viewers of the launch noticed an uncomfortable detail about King’s demeanor in the lead up to takeoff.
The crew were filmed on their walk up to the rocket, with each member ringing a symbolic bell before entering their capsule.
However, while most members appeared to be excited, onlookers watching on social media claimed that King seemed ‘scared’ and ‘miserable’.
On X, formerly Twitter, one user wrote: “Gayle looks miserable.”
Another said: “Gayle walking like she already been to the moon and back.”
A third person joked: “Gayle partied too hard last night…”
And a fourth user added: “I'd be scared s***less too! But she did it.”
Despite her nonchalant appearance ahead of the launch, after landing back on Earth, King shared her experience, admitting that she ‘still can’t accept’ the fact that she is now an astronaut.
She continued: “It’s oddly quiet when you get up there. It’s really quiet and peaceful and you look down at the planet and think, ‘that’s where we came from’.
“For me, it’s such a reminder about how we need to do better, be better.”
King also shared that Perry sang a rendition of Louis Armstrong’s ‘What a Wonderful World’ while the crew were up in space.
Perry went on to explain that while people were asking if she was going to sing one of her own songs such as ‘Firework’ or ‘Roar’, she said ‘it’s not about me, I wanted to talk about the world’.
The singer went on to say that it was ‘about a collective energy, making space for future women, it’s about the wonderful world we see out there’.
Sánchez shared similar sentiments to King about her thoughts while viewing the Earth from above.
She said: “I’m so proud of this crew, I can’t put it into words.
“I looked out of the window and we got to see the moon. Earth looked so quiet, it was quiet, but really alive.”
