Technologies

ICYMI: Watch Katy Perry, Gayle King Successfully Land on Blue Origin Space Flight

Music icon Katy Perry and an all-woman crew launched on a Blue Origin New Shepard spacecraft on April 14, as Oprah Winfrey watched from the ground.

Pop star Katy Perry may need to update the lyrics to her hit song Firework to, «Baby, you’re an astronaut.» On Monday, Perry became one of the latest celebrities to visit space. Author and former journalist Lauren Sanchez was also part of Blue Origin’s successful NS-31 mission. Sanchez is the fiancee of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and Blue Origin.

Aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyễn, film producer Kerianne Flynn and CBS host Gayle King (Oprah Winfrey’s bestie) filled out the roster for the all-female crew. Winfrey attended the launch as an observer.

The crew rolled to the launchpad in Rivian electric trucks and took an elevator up to board the crew capsule. Bezos personally escorted them to the rocket. The flight lasted about 11 minutes. Perry sang What a Wonderful World during the flight, though choppy audio made it difficult to hear the crew at times during the livestream.

This was the first all-female spaceflight since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s historic solo spaceflight in 1963. Tereshkova was the first woman in space.

Watch Katy Perry visit space

The New Shepard spacecraft launched from West Texas at about 8:30 a.m. CT on Monday. Relive the mission through Blue Origin’s livestream replay on YouTube.

Does New Shepard reach space?

There’s an ongoing debate about what represents space. For example, everyone agrees the International Space Station is in space but commercial rocket rides like what Blue Origin operates fall into a gray zone. One benchmark is the Karman line, an imagined line 62 miles above the Earth’s surface.

NASA recognizes that «there’s really no clear boundary between where Earth’s atmosphere ends and outer space begins,» but says most scientists recognize the Karman line as the transition point to space. So unless you want to get into a nitpicky argument, Perry and the rest of the crew made a brief visit to space during their mission.

The crew experienced weightlessness after the spacecraft passed the Karman line. The return trip involved a gentle parachute-assisted landing of the crew capsule.

This was the 11th human flight for the New Shepard program. Blue Origin had previously flown 52 people into space, including Star Trek’s William Shatner, Good Morning America host Michael Strahan and Bezos.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, June 15

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 15.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Long, drawn-out story
Answer: SAGA

5A clue: With 6-Down, become hopelessly infatuated
Answer: CRUSH

7A clue: Unsettled feeling
Answer: AGITA

8A clue: Back tooth
Answer: MOLAR

9A clue: Passionate student, perhaps
Answer: NERD

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: A text saying «Congratulations! You’ve won a $1,000 gift card,» usually
Answer: SCAM

2D clue: Element between chlorine and potassium on the periodic table
Answer: ARGON

3D clue: Craftiness
Answer: GUILE

4D clue: «___ Is Born» (film)
Answer: ASTAR

6D clue: See 5-Across
Answer: HARD

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for June 15, #469

Here are hints and answers for NYT Strands puzzle No. 469 for June 15.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle celebrates Father’s Day, but in kind of an oddball way. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Here’s to him.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Dad food.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

DRAW, WARD, PAIR, SPARE, PORE, PADS, CLAY, PLUS, FORE, SCORE, CORE, CRAW, CORN, PATH

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

CHALUPA, CRAWDAD, POPCORN, POPSICLE, PAPARAZZI

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is FATHERSDAY. To find it, start with the F that’s five letters down on the first row to the left, and wind over.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for June 15, #265

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 265, for June 15.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition might be tough. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest, yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Sign on the dotted line.

Green group hint: Monaco Grand Prix.

Blue group hint: Just like dad.

Purple group hint: Three titles.