In West Texas desert under a bright blue sky, six incredible women etched their names in history. At 9:30 a.m. ET on April 14, 2025, Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket burst to life, taking with it the first all-female space crew in more than sixty years above the Kármán line—the boundary of space. But as the rocket soared, everyone’s gaze wasn’t only on the sky. It was on a woman in bright yellow, on the ground with streams of tears running down her face: Oprah Winfrey.
She wasn’t observing a launch. She was observing her best friend for more than 40 years, Gayle King, take flight – literally. And at that moment, Oprah’s tears encapsulated what many felt but could not convey: pride, amazement, and the subtle strength of women empowering each other.
Sporting a bright yellow attire—the tribute was to Gayle’s nickname “Sunshine“—Oprah stood at the Launch Site One of Blue Origin, her fingers clasped before her chest. Paparazzi captured Oprah in a faint whisper, “That’s my girl,” as the rocket vanished from view.
“It was the proudest I’ve ever been,”
Oprah later reported.
“Gayle overcame her fear of flying, much less space travel, and still did it. This was her moment. And she owned it.”
Gayle King, co-anchor of CBS Mornings, was never afraid to admit to her fear of turbulence. But for this trip, she revealed that she felt compelled to push past her boundaries.
“It wasn’t only about space,”
she replied.
“It was about growth. And Oprah kept reminding me, ‘You’ll return different.’ And that was spot on.”
A Crew Written in the Stars
Gayle was not alone on this historic journey. Accompanying her were five additional women whose careers range from science to music to activism to film:
Katy Perry: Katy Perry, pop star extraordinaire, contributed music to the mission. Halfway through the journey, she softly crooned
“What a Wonderful World”
with her voice drifting in zero gravity.
“I wanted to provide the moment with a soundtrack,”
she explained later.
“Something optimistic, something eternal.”
Lauren Sánchez: Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos’ partner, journalist Lauren Sánchez, described the ride as “spiritually overwhelming.” Famously avid about flight, Sánchez stated that this flight was about establishing that
“women belong up here too.”
Aisha Bowe: Aisha Bowe, a NASA rocket scientist turned tech founder, broke boundaries before liftoff. “I was a community college student,” she revealed.
“Now I’m in space. That journey counts.”
Amanda Nguyen: A Nobel Prize nominee and bioastronautics researcher, Amanda Nguyen wore on her wrist a hospital bracelet from a deeply personal moment from her past.
“I flew for every survivor who was ever told their dreams were too big,”
Kerianne Flynn: Film producer Kerianne Flynn, who’s made a career of spinning tales, described the view from space as
“the most cinematic thing I’ve ever seen.”
Arriving unharmed in the dust of West Texas, crew members stepped off smiling, overcome with emotion, changed.
They spent approximately 11 minutes on their mission together, enjoying four minutes of weightlessness with a view of their home planet below them: blue, glowing, delicate.
Gayle hugged Oprah tightly, still dressed in her suit and panting.
“It was serene up there,”
she exclaimed.
“I wasn’t frightened. I was awestruck.”
Social media erupted almost immediately. Oprah’s tearful reaction was splashed all over social media. While some people called her emotional display “over the top,” many more felt it was “the realest thing we’ve seen in ages.” One posted,
“Every woman should have a friend that cheers her on like Oprah cheers Gayle on.”
It was the first all-female space mission since that of Valentina Tereshkova in 1963. It was different from previous missions conducted by state agencies in that it was a mix of science, celebrity, and symbolism that showed that space is not for only a privileged few.
It was a message heard globally, particularly by girls in classrooms, living rooms, and even from hospital beds.
“Representation does matter,”
said Amanda Nguyen.
“And today we demonstrated what that actually looks like.”
As sunset approached over the launching site, Oprah quietly sat with Gayle, grasping her hand.
“She touched the sky today,”
Oprah spoke.
“And brought all of us with her.”
