Today, Katy Perry will blast off into space as part of the first all-women flight to take place since Russian engineer Valentina Tereshkova's solo flight in 1963.
The American pop star won't be alone on the history-making mission either. Set to take place aboard Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rocket, Perry will be joined by leader of the mission Lauren Sanchez, former Nasa rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, CBS presenter Gayle King, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
Lifting off from West Texas at 2.30pm (BST), the flight will last approximately 11 minutes, and the crew will get to experience weightlessness whilst in orbit.
To this date, 52 people have jetted into the stars as part of Amazon mogul Bezos's space programme, and all of this talk has left Brits a little jealous - but there are fun ways to get involved in the history-making moment on this side of the pond, too.
From a space flight experience to an immersive sci-fi stimulator, discover the best space flight experiences on offer in the UK below.
Into The Blue Space Flight
One for serious space fanatics, if you really want to know what it’s like to feel weightless, the Into The Blue Space Flight is designed to give you as close an experience to Katy Perry's space mission as possible. According to the website, you’ll take off from Goodwood Aerodrome in an ex-military Slingsby T67 Firefly to get to grips with the exact same level of g-force as astronauts.
During the 30-minute flight, you’ll be given a uniform to wear and a brief introduction to the cockpit controls. Whilst up in the sky, you will experience the same acceleration, twists, and turns as astronauts in orbit. In other words, this isn’t one for the faint-hearted...
Where to book now
You need to head over to the Into The Blue website now to book. The Weekday Space Flight Experience costs £395, whilst an anytime booking comes in at £445. Good luck up there.
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Bridge Command Live Immersive Space Stimulator
Described as ‘the best immersive experience’ by one visitor on Reddit, the Bridge Command Live Immersive Space Simulator Experience has proven a huge hit with space fanatics.
Based in London, guests will be welcomed into the United Confederation Navy (uniform and all), before being teleported to the UCS Warspite, a large battleship 'stationed 22 lightyears away'.
According to the website, you will be assigned a team, and will take part in a ‘story of exploration, diplomacy, and intergalactic intrigue’. During the experience, you will take the controls and must fend off enemy ships during the expedition. The mission will conclude on earth, with photos and stories to remember your time up in the stars.
It’s gone down well with visitors, too. One fan wrote on Reddit, “The gist is you’re part of a star ship crew and you have to go about a mission. There are different stations on the ship where you get to control different things and they all affect other systems whilst using them. If you ever played Star Trek bridge crew it’s like that but a million times better.”
Another added: “Honestly, it goes by so quickly, you’re running around pressing buttons and shouting at each other to coordinate to kill the bad guys. It was a lot of fun.”
Where to book now
You need to head over to Virgin Experience Days to book the experience now. For four people, the experience costs £200 off-peak and £250 peak. See you there?
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If you'd prefer to experience space with your feet firmly on the ground (us too), lots of companies also offer VR experiences instead. For instance, you can get the whole family involved with the Mission to the Moon experience at Space Store. Everyone will get dressed up in replica space suits before taking part in a virtual reality moon walk and escape room. You can head over to the Virgin Experience Days website to book now.
Topics: Katy Perry, Space
Danielle Fowler