Katy Perry blasted off into space this afternoon, with an all-women crew on Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket. The 40-year-old singer will be joined by Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sánchez, CBS presenter Gayle King, former Nasa rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn.

The space tourism rocket lifted off from its West Texas launch site, with the launch window opening at 08.30am local time (2.30pm UK time). The flight lasted around 11 minutes and take the crew more than 100km (62 miles) above Earth. As part of the experience, those on board the rocket were able to take in breathtaking views while feeling a few moments of weightlessness.

When the rocket returned to Earth, rescue crews rushed to the capsule as smoke puffed up around it. Shortly after, the astronauts all safely exited, with Katy Perry dropping to her knees to kiss the Earth – grateful for a safe return.

Speaking about taking on the venture when it was first announced, the Dark Horse singer shared on her Instagram account: “If you had told me that I would be part of the first-ever all-female crew in space, I would have believed you. Nothing was beyond my imagination as a child. Although we didn’t grow up with much, I never stopped looking at the world with hopeful WONDER!”