Gayle King shares words of support Oprah offered ahead of Blue Origin flight

Oprah Winfrey offered a few words of wisdom to Gayle King to get her into space.

The CBS News host boarded Jeff Bezos’ New Shepard NS-31 mission this morning alongside Lauren Sanchez, Katy Perry and three other women who became the first all-female space crew since Valentina Tereshkova’s solo flight in 1963.

The first thing she did when she returned was “kiss the ground,” keeping to the words she told the Daily Express US at the Breakthrough Prize ceremony.

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Gayle faced her fears as she went into space. During an interview with Elle, she admitted she was scared of heights, which is part of the reason she opted for the trip in the first place.

On her Instagram, she said her “flight goal” was to step out of her comfort zone “to show us all that we can face our fears and experience something incredible.”

Gayle was originally hesitant to sign up for the flight but some of her friends helped her make the decision.

The host shared to Blue Origin: “All of them said ‘I think you should do it,’ much to my surprise.”

She mentioned that list was “including Oprah.”

Oprah and Gayle have been friends for almost 50 years, since the two met at a Baltimore news station. 

Oprah was present in Texas when the flight took off and was even spotting breaking into tears because of her friend’s accomplishment. 

After recollecting herself, she was able to act as a sense of support for not only Gayle but also the family and friends of the other crew members.

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Former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe’s 92-year-old grandfather Forester was comforted by the producer when he started getting nervous. 

After the flight, he told his granddaughter: "I was really worried for you, but then Oprah squeezed me."

Once Gayle returned and took some time to process the monumental task she had just completed, she spoke to NPR about the experience.

"It's oddly quiet when you get up there," King said later. "It's really quiet and peaceful, and you look down on the planet and think ‘That's where we came from?’ To me it's such a reminder about how we need to do better, be better."

She added: "I stepped out of my comfort zone in a way that I never thought was possible for me, and now that I've done it, I really do feel I can take on anything.”