“I am not brave. I’m sitting here terrified,” said journalist Gayle King in a Thursday interview with CBS News. “How can you be terrified and excited at the same time? But that is me.”
King, the host of CBS Morning News, was talking about her upcoming trip beyond this world. She’ll be part of an all-female crew expected to be launched into space this spring on a Blue Origin rocket. Other crew members include pop star Katy Perry and journalist Lauren Sánchez, who is the fiancée of Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos.
Also known as the founder of online retail giant Amazon, Bezos started the spaceflight company 25 years ago. So far, Blue Origin has sent its New Shepard rocket on 30 missions, including 10 with humans on board.
Before her interview with CBS News host Vlad Duthiers, a Star Wars-style crawl appeared on the screen revealing that King had put “reservations aside” in agreeing to participate in Blue Origin’s 11th human flight with the New Shepard. She explained that she doesn’t even like roller coasters and that she gets nervous while flying.
There were a few factors that made her say yes. One was that her 3-year-old grandson, Luca, would think it was cool. Another was a desire to step out of her comfort zone.
King’s best friend, beloved TV icon Oprah Winfrey, even encouraged her to go for it.
“If you don’t do it, you will be kicking yourself,” was what Winfrey told her, said King. Her friend knew that King was fascinated with the idea ever since they discussed Star Trek star William Shatner’s Blue Origin trip in 2021.
“Oprah is always right,” said Duthiers.
Even with Winfrey’s blessing, King admitted that she’s still scared. This week she joined a Zoom call with the other members of the crew and said she felt that they were more “fearless” than her. In addition to Sánchez (who is also a pilot) and Perry, the team will include: former NASA rocket scientist, entrepreneur, and global STEM advocate Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen and Kerianne Flynn a non-profit expert and film producer with previous experience in fashion and human resources.
“When this happens, I will be so proud that I was part of it,” King said.