Why The Latest Blue Origin Flight Is So Annoying

I am not one who gets all hot and bothered about the space tourism industry. 

I don’t have the kind of money that would make a trip above the Kármán Line affordable, and if I were in the mood to admit it, I would be nervous about sitting atop a controlled explosion to get there. The idea of being up there is attractive, but the mechanics of getting there would freak me out. 

Katy Perry just became the first pop star to go to space!!

But this wasn’t just a celebrity photo op—here’s what actually happened, what it means for the future

On April 14, Katy boarded Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket with five other women—including Lauren Sánchez and Gayle… pic.twitter.com/6OLfqMjgFm

— Jacklyn Dallas (@NBTJacklyn) April 15, 2025

Katy Perry just became the first pop star to go to space!!

But this wasn’t just a celebrity photo op—here’s what actually happened, what it means for the future

On April 14, Katy boarded Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket with five other women—including Lauren Sánchez and Gayle King—for an 11-minute flight.

The rocket soared 100 kilometers above Earth, crossing the boundary where space officially begins known as the the Kármán line

They floated in zero gravity. Katy Perry even sang mid-flight—in space.

Each seat reportedly cost between $200,000 and $500,000, with some auctioned for as much as $28 million.

But Blue Origin’s ultimate goal isn’t just space tourism. It’s using space to help Earth—through research in microgravity that could lead to breakthroughs in medicine, materials, and sustainability, and by launching satellites to expand global internet access.

This isn’t about escaping Earth—it’s about using space exploration to improve life back home:)

I think it’s cool that people can make the trip, although Blue Origin’s brief flights do seem a bit lame compared to SpaceX’s orbital flights that rival NASA’s achievements since Apollo (landing on the moon is uniquely cool, and SpaceX is a long way from that yet). 

SpaceX passengers on the Polaris Dawn crew–Jared Isaacman, Scott Poteet, Sarah Gillis, and Anna Menon–have traveled the farthest from Earth since NASA stopped sending men to the moon. 

This gets me to the point of why I find the latest New Shepard flight so annoying. 

The “historic” all female rocket barely even touches what is technically considered “space”

On the right is Elon’s Falcon 9 orbital rocket, the booster alone goes twice as high as the Katy Perry rocket.

I’m all for women’s achievements but this is not one of them… pic.twitter.com/n4ScZ8EDCb

— Chloe Cole ⭐️ (@ChoooCole) April 14, 2025

The achievement of a few celebrities getting shot 65 miles above the Earth is not nothing but in the grand scheme of things, it also isn’t that much. 

History in motion as these pioneers soar aboard New Shepard @blueorigin
Empowering, inspiring, and truly out of this world! #MissionNS31 #BlueOrigin #WomenInSpace pic.twitter.com/hrrqCv2cbP

— Oksana Sosa (@sosa_oksana) April 14, 2025

This flight is getting so much attention not because of what it was but rather who went on the trip. Almost all the attention is focused on the fact that it was all female (how do they know??), that the crew was all celebrities, and that the “spacesuits” (they were really just jumpers made to make the women look good) were “designer.” 

Today, Katy Perry became the first human since Neal Armstrong and Buzz Peterson to set foot on another planet

What an amazing moment for America, which proved once again why it is the oldest and greatest country on earth pic.twitter.com/TUjmln68Rp

— Three Year Letterman (@3YearLetterman) April 14, 2025

There was nothing really new, nothing accomplished aside from inspiring a new Katy Perry song that will probably suck (what can top the video of “Hear Me Roar,” another feminist anthem with Katy looking impossibly hot?), and great shots of Gayle King looking scared beyond belief (I would be too, so no judgment there). 

There is nothing annoying to me about anybody going into space for whatever reason, but unless they are doing something new or useful it is about as impressive as somebody hiking the Appalachian trail. Good for you! Now get off my TV screen because that is your deal, not mine. 

🚨FEMINIST ALERT🚨

Liberal female corrects male anchor for asking about how space missions benefit mankind.

Dr. Mae Jemison says, “I’m going to keep correcting the mankind, the man-made, and man-missions because this is exactly what this mission is about expanding the… pic.twitter.com/Oc6HPk2QpK

— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) April 15, 2025

🚨FEMINIST ALERT🚨

Liberal female corrects male anchor for asking about how space missions benefit mankind.

Dr. Mae Jemison says, “I’m going to keep correcting the mankind, the man-made, and man-missions because this is exactly what this mission is about expanding the perspective of who does space.”

Oh, come ON! Get off it. 

As you can see from this commentary, the trip was a stunt. Stunts themselves aren’t that annoying either, but they are Instagram-worthy, not worthy of breathless coverage by every media outlet in the world. 

pic.twitter.com/OvXLRufUTz 前回までの宇宙服と違って女性の身体にフィットするように作られていますね！The spacesuit has been redesigned to better fit a woman’s body! It looks much nicer than the previous New Shepard suits!

— Takae in Space🚀✨🌍🔭 (@TS86142) April 14, 2025

When Alex Honnold free solos up El Capitan it deserves a lot of attention and even a documentary. Not Apollo-level attention, but the accomplishment genuinely pushes the boundaries and captures the attention of people because nobody has done anything like it, nor would any vaguely sane person do so. 

It’s not about social media clicks or likes, but accomplishing something once thought impossible. There is something in MANkind’s soul that drives us to admire that. 

Oprah Winfrey broke down in tears as her best friend Gayle King went to space for 11 minutes aboard Blue Origins New Shepard.

pic.twitter.com/X6f1ter9AC

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) April 15, 2025

It’s not about trying to catch a glimpse of Katy Perry’s breasts or wondering how much plastic was used to create Lauren Sanchez’s. 

If you asked most Americans who took the first spacewalk by a civilian on Polaris Dawn they would stare at you blankly. Polaris Dawn? Who? What?

i swear to god no one’s ever wanted to go to space less than Gayle King pic.twitter.com/nKUA7nMOXx

— Emily (@emilybernay) April 15, 2025

But the same people could tell you that Gayle King, who name-checked Oprah in her interviews, and Katy Perry just went to space!

That, my friends, is annoying. We should care more about WHAT than WHO. And the “what” in this case was pretty minor. 

That is very annoying to me, and should be to any serious person who may be happy to see Katy Perry strut around with few clothes singing about female empowerment, but not care less about whether she spent FOUR minutes weightless before floating back to Earth.