“CBS Mornings” co-host Gayle King conquered her fears Monday as she traveled to the edge of space with an all-women crew on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.

Journeying to space isn’t something King said she ever dreamed of doing. Prior to the historic spaceflight, she even admitted she’s a nervous flyer.

“I’m very safe right here on the ground,” King said prior to the launch.

To calm her nerves before embarking on the spaceflight, King invited meditation teacher Bob Roth to her home.

“So I want you to close your eyes … and then I want you to begin your meditation, your mantra,” Roth told King as he taught her techniques that she would use once she arrived in Texas.

Preparing for launch in Texas

In West Texas where the rocket launched, King met with Sarah Knights who prepares astronauts at Blue Origin. She’s also a trained high-speed driver.

At the Astronaut Training Center, Knights explained everything from pre-launch to landing.

“We’re throwing a lot at you,” she told King.

Knights said the astronauts have two phrases they can use up to 2 minutes and 30 seconds prior to liftoff, “timeout” and “I will not fly.” She said “I will not fly” removes an individual from the flight, which no one has ever done. On “CBS Mornings” on Tuesday, King said she didn’t come close to using either phrase.

“I just think when you go through all of that and all of the preparation that Blue Origin did, that never crossed my mind,” she said.

In the training capsule, Knights went over the sounds King and her crewmates would hear before the rocket launches.

“You’re going to hear the fans turn on and you’re going to hear some sound from the rocket,” Knights said as she explained the process. “Thump, thump, thump — that’s the rocket underneath you getting ready to light the engine.”

They ran through the entire mission and after the first day of practice, King felt more prepared, saying, “I’m hoping that it will be second nature to me by Monday.”

At Astronaut Village, King first saw her official flight suit. The soon-to-be astronaut immediately noticed it said “King” on it.

“This is official … wow,” she said. “Here’s something I never thought I’d see, me in an astronaut suit.”

Blue Origin also needed to take inventory of her flight payload bag that was filled with personal items that could come along for the journey. King brought her grandson Luca’s favorite stuffed toy, Tamir, from Sesame Street.

However, she learned the bag would get stowed under her seat, so Tamir wouldn’t be accessible during the flight.

“My dream was to hold him up while I’m floating and say ‘this is Tamir,’ King said. To help, Sesame Street was able to ship a much smaller Tamir to King overnight.

With Tamir in tow, King and the rest of the crew got familiar with the New Shepard rocket and learned more about what to expect – preparing for every scenario leading up to launch day.

Launch day

On Monday, launch day, the crew took an emotional ride to the launchpad, preparing for liftoff. 

In addition to King, pop star Katy Perry, journalist and philanthropist Lauren Sánchez, film producer Kerianne Flynn, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen were aboard the spaceflight.

The crew rang the bell as they approached the capsule and took their seats inside.

Shortly after liftoff, the crew made it to the edge of space with just minutes to take in the life-changing view.

The total time of the spaceflight from liftoff to landing was approximately 10 minutes and 21 seconds.

When King exited the spacecraft, she kissed the ground in celebration.

“I am so proud of me right now,” she said shortly after landing. “This was not a ride. What happened to us, this was a bona fide freakin’ flight.”

She described the experience as “peaceful” and “oddly quiet” as she looked down at Earth.

Shooting for the stars, King showed you can always overcome your fears.

“Eleanor Roosevelt once said courage is doing something that scares you but you do it anyway and I stepped out of my comfort zone in a way I never thought was possible for me,” she said. “Now that I’ve done it, I really do feel I can take on anything.”

On Tuesday, King said while she wouldn’t travel to space anytime soon, she would do it again. 

“Now that I’ve been through it, I know now that I could do it again,” she said.

Our “CBS Mornings” series, Never Too Late, highlights stories of people conquering new challenges or embracing a second chapter at any age in life. Watch the 6-week run, showcasing “CBS Mornings” anchors and correspondents achieving their dreams — both big and small. And share your own Never Too Late story here for a chance to get featured on the show.

• Space