Katy Perry Went to Space

and I hate her for it

This morning (April 14 2025), Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin rocket New Shepard went to suborbital space. The crew consisted of Katy Perry (popstar), Lauren Sanchez (Bezos' fiancee and botox extraordinaire), Gayle King (co-host of CBS Mornings + chief editor of The Oprah Magazine), Aisha Bowe (aerospace engineer + biz owner), Amanda Nguyen (civil right activist that drafted the sexual assault survivors’ rights act after being raped while attending Harvard), and Kerianne Flynn (film producer). Okay…. so?

Honestly, that’s the question I ask myself. So what? The pr surrounding this very short (12 minute) flight touts that it was the first all-female spaceflight since 1963, featuring a star studded cast of influential women #girlpower #genderwashing. It was free to watch - I skimmed through the two hour coverage which included Kris Jenner and Khloe Kardashian (there to support their friend Sanchez), pre-taped interviews, the launch, the return and the crew’s reactions. The broadcast was anchored by two women that did not introduce themselves, but who did say they work for Blue Origin (again, launch as advertisement). They talked extensively about the meaning of the flight: “I know there are some people watching this who are thinking, ‘why should I care about people going into space?’ And the reason is it’s missions like this that really begin the process of opening up space to everyone, for all of humanity…if you can’t see it, you can’t do it, it’s about inspiring women…” LMAO. I genuinely laughed out loud hearing that. Oh yes, this mission really showcases the future accessibility of human spaceflight experience. The whole point of it is exclusivity, entitlement, greed. The flight just barely reached above the Karman Line (recognized boundary of outer space)… it’s just about the title, the I Went to Space, the Experience I Deserve to Have as a Member of the Upper Echelon. This entire thing is one huge publicity stunt so Bezos can appeal to the innermost desire of the uber rich: going to space without working for it!

Here’s a clip that exemplifies this point: click here

It’s disgusting in all honesty. Kiss the ground like you’ve been gone for longer than 10 minutes, like you care about the Earth or anyone else on it at all! The fact that Amanda Nguyen was a part of this crew is disheartening for me - can she not see the irony of this performative spaceflight versus her social justice platform?

Jeff Bezos founded Blue Origin in 2000 and currently gives the company $2 bil a year to keep it running. He wants New Shepard and its newest rocket companion, New Glenn, to do this kind of trip twice a month, with passengers paying around a million bucks per seat. 24 trips a year is laughable right now, with NS + NG having flown 11 total times with humans onboard. I guess 24 flights is when there will be some potential for profit, because Blue Origin is operating at an undisclosed (private company) but very obvious deficit.

About two months ago the company fired 1000 workers, about 10% of its workforce, due to “bureaucracy” and “business strategy”. Basically their execs said they grew really quickly and hired too many people (a la covid) and that they didn’t need em. See, it’s not about money at all! It’s about the efficiency of the operation ;) For sure for sure.

This stunt reminded me of the Challengers submarine disaster. Thankfully the flight went off without a hitch, but New Shepard has gone up in smoke before: in 2022 NS-23 (New Shepard’s 23rd flight, thankfully uncrewed) suffered a “thermonuclear structural failure of the engine nozzle” about 1 minute after launch, causing the rocket to catch on fire as the one of its boosters failed. The portion of the rocket that would have held humans successfully implemented its escape system and landed safely, but WHO CARES. The commercialization of spaceflight is ignorant and dangerous, period. Any malfunction is millions, if not billions of dollars down the drain. There is tons of shit occurring on Earth that is more worthy of the time and resources being wasted here. Plus if traveling to space becomes a for-profit business, safety will never truly be the number one priority (besides possible failure’s impact on pr).

The exploration of the depths of the sea or beyond the height of our atmosphere as a form of tourism is insane. I’m so excited for the anarchy-capitalist society that awaits us :)))))

Shirt for kickball

Sorry this one was a downer, it just pisses me off you know? Time to do my actual work, bye!