Maryland native Gayle King is set to become the latest celebrity space tourist in a glitzy mission some are hailing as a milestone and others are criticizing as a spectacle.

King — a 70-year-old morning show host, author and journalist who spent her early years in Chevy Chase, graduated from the University of Maryland and worked at WJZ in Baltimore — is part of an all-female crew that is scheduled to take a brief trip above Earth on Monday morning aboard the New Shepard spacecraft. The mission marks the latest space tourism venture by Blue Origin, the private space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos.

Organizers say it’s the first all-female space mission since the Soviet Union’s Valentina Tereshkova made a solo flight in 1963. The star-studded group includes King, pop star Katy Perry, journalist and philanthropist Lauren Sánchez, film producer Kerianne Flynn, activist Amanda Nguyen and rocket scientist Aisha Bowe. Sánchez, who organized the trip, is Bezos’ fiancée.

Although some see space tourism as a small step for man, others see it as a giant vanity project for celebrities and the ultra rich. Besides Bezos, billionaires Elon Musk and Richard Branson have also started their own commercial space companies.

According to its website, Bezos’ Blue Origin requires a $150,000 deposit to reserve a seat for a spaceflight. Since 2021, it has flown nearly 50 executives, entrepreneurs, Hollywood stars and other paying customers. Bezos himself was aboard the company’s first crewed voyage.

Patrick Binning, a space engineering instructor at the Johns Hopkins University, said space tourism is more than a publicity stunt.

Short, suborbital flights like the one King will take help to develop technologies needed to one day live on the moon, Binning said. And they can inspire a generation that was born after the space shuttle era.

“The public sees rockets and billionaires and celebrities, but I think what matters is the spark,” Binning said. “If one kid watches that launch and decides to study engineering, that’s a win, to me.

“Any attention that is brought to space watches and space tourism and the future of spaceflight is good for the industry, and it’s good for America,” he added.

Here’s what else to know about Monday’s Blue Origin flight.

What will happen on King’s space flight?

Named after the first American in space, Alan Shepard, the New Shepard is set to launch from Blue Origin’s private ranch in rural west Texas at 9:30 a.m. Eastern. Delays could occur in the event of bad weather or infrastructural issues.

A few minutes after the spaceship blasts off at supersonic speeds of over 2,000 mph, the booster will separate and the bell-shaped capsule will continue on its journey. Eventually, it will cross the Kármán Line, a boundary 62 miles above sea level that separates the Earth’s atmosphere from outer space.

The six-person crew will then experience a few minutes of weightlessness and stunning views of the Earth through the capsule’s large windows.

Finally, the reusable capsule will descend to the ground with the help of three parachutes. From liftoff to touchdown, the entire trip will last 11 minutes.

OK, I’m intrigued. How can I watch?

Blue Origin plans to stream the New Shepard launch on its website, beginning 90 minutes before liftoff.

King’s show, “CBS Mornings,” will also provide coverage beginning at 7 a.m. The network will stream the launch on CBS News 24/7 and Paramount+.

What does King have to say?

In interviews with CBS, King has admitted she’s not a fan of flying and needed a little coaxing before agreeing to join Blue Origin’s latest expedition.

But King said she was swayed by spaceflight’s broader mission.

“This was never, ever, ever my dream,” King said days before the planned liftoff. “And then I started thinking about it. I thought about the opportunity, the experience, the message that it would send. There was something about being part of the first female team to me. The group of women that they put together is so extraordinary to me that I thought, ‘Wow, why would I not want to be a part of that?’ ”