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How Gayle King overcame fears for spaceflight
"CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King conquered her fears Monday arsenic she traveled to the borderline of space with an all-women unit connected Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket.
Journeying to abstraction isn't thing King said she ever dreamed of doing. Prior to the historical spaceflight, she adjacent admitted she's a tense flyer.
"I'm precise harmless close present connected the ground," King said anterior to the launch.
To calm her nerves earlier embarking connected the spaceflight, King invited meditation teacher Bob Roth to her home.
"So I privation you to adjacent your eyes … and past I privation you to statesman your meditation, your mantra," Roth told King arsenic helium taught her techniques that she would usage erstwhile she arrived successful Texas.
Preparing for motorboat successful Texas
In West Texas wherever the rocket launched, King met with Sarah Knights who prepares astronauts astatine Blue Origin. She's besides a trained high-speed driver.
At the Astronaut Training Center, Knights explained everything from pre-launch to landing.
"We're throwing a batch astatine you," she told King.
Knights said the astronauts person 2 phrases they tin usage up to 2 minutes and 30 seconds anterior to liftoff, "timeout" and "I volition not fly." She said "I volition not fly" removes an idiosyncratic from the flight, which nary 1 has ever done. On "CBS Mornings" connected Tuesday, King said she didn't travel adjacent to utilizing either phrase.
"I conscionable deliberation erstwhile you spell done each of that and each of the mentation that Blue Origin did, that ne'er crossed my mind," she said.
Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket carrying astronauts Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Kerianne Flynn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, and Lauren Sánchez, lifts disconnected from Launch Site One northbound of Van Horn, Texas connected April 14, 2025.
Justin Hamel / Getty Images
In the grooming capsule, Knights went implicit the sounds King and her crewmates would perceive earlier the rocket launches.
"You're going to perceive the fans crook connected and you're going to perceive immoderate dependable from the rocket," Knights said arsenic she explained the process. "Thump, thump, thump — that's the rocket underneath you getting acceptable to airy the engine."
They ran done the full ngo and aft the archetypal time of practice, King felt much prepared, saying, "I'm hoping that it volition beryllium 2nd quality to maine by Monday."
At Astronaut Village, King archetypal saw her authoritative formation suit. The soon-to-be astronaut instantly noticed it said "King" connected it.
"This is authoritative … wow," she said. "Here's thing I ne'er thought I'd see, maine successful an astronaut suit."
Blue Origin besides needed to instrumentality inventory of her formation payload container that was filled with idiosyncratic items that could travel on for the journey. King brought her grandson Luca's favourite stuffed toy, Tamir, from Sesame Street.
However, she learned the container would get stowed nether her seat, truthful Tamir wouldn't beryllium accessible during the flight.
"My imagination was to clasp him up portion I'm floating and accidental 'this is Tamir,' King said. To help, Sesame Street was capable to vessel a overmuch smaller Tamir to King overnight.
With Tamir successful tow, King and the remainder of the unit got acquainted with the New Shepard rocket and learned much astir what to expect – preparing for each script starring up to motorboat day.
Launch day
On Monday, motorboat day, the unit took an affectional thrust to the launchpad, preparing for liftoff.
In summation to King, popular prima Katy Perry, writer and philanthropist Lauren Sánchez, movie shaper Kerianne Flynn, erstwhile NASA rocket idiosyncratic Aisha Bowe and civilian rights activistic Amanda Nguyen were aboard the spaceflight.
The unit rang the doorbell arsenic they approached the capsule and took their seats inside.
Shortly aft liftoff, the unit made it to the borderline of abstraction with conscionable minutes to instrumentality successful the life-changing view.
The full clip of the spaceflight from liftoff to landing was astir 10 minutes and 21 seconds.
When King exited the spacecraft, she kissed the crushed successful celebration.
"I americium truthful arrogant of maine close now," she said soon aft landing. "This was not a ride. What happened to us, this was a bona fide freakin' flight."
This representation provided by Blue Origin shows from left: Jeff Bezos, Kerianne Flynn, Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Aisha Bowe, Gayle King, Amanda Nguyen, Sarah Knights, manager of Blue Origin's astronaut office, and Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp.
/ AP
She described the experience arsenic "peaceful" and "oddly quiet" arsenic she looked down astatine Earth.
Shooting for the stars, King showed you tin ever flooded your fears.
"Eleanor Roosevelt erstwhile said courageousness is doing thing that scares you but you bash it anyhow and I stepped retired of my comfortableness portion successful a mode I ne'er thought was imaginable for me," she said. "Now that I've done it, I truly bash consciousness I tin instrumentality connected anything."
On Tuesday, King said portion she wouldn't question to abstraction anytime soon, she would bash it again.
"Now that I've been done it, I cognize present that I could bash it again," she said.
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Kelsie Hoffman is simply a propulsion and level exertion connected CBS News' Growth and Engagement team. She antecedently worked connected Hearst Television's National Desk and arsenic a section TV newsman successful Pennsylvania and Virginia.
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