In case you missed it, the Blue Origin space flight was a flight that took place on Monday April 14 with an all-female crew of six, with all of them being celebrities.
But the space flight was highly criticized by known figures and users online for not having a deeper purpose as it only lasted 11 minutes.
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Anyone could reserve a place
Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, saw a flight on Monday April 14 to the boundary of outer space.
Anyone could reserve a spot on the spacecraft with a ‘fully refundable deposit’ of $150,000. According to The New York Times, Blue Origin auctioned off its first seat for $28 million in 2021, so it’s expensive to say the least.
It was the first all-female crew
The Blue Origin flight saw the company’s first all-female flight crew which included Katy Perry, rocket scientists Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyen, philanthropist Lauren Sanchez, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and TV personality Gayle King.
The flight received a lot of criticism
Blue Origin and the celebrities who went on the flight received a lot of backlash from known personalities and users online.
Most of them were upset at the privatization of space travel that meant only people with great wealth could be passengers.
Olivia Munn openly criticized it
People also didn’t like the alleged high carbon emissions impacting the Earth’s already struggling climate, with the flight not seeming to have a greater goal other than the passengers’ brief enjoyment.
Actress Olivia Munn shared her perspective on the flight, openly criticizing it on an episode of Today with Jenna & Friends.
She didn’t think there was a point to it
“What’s the point? Is it historic that you guys are going on a ride? I think it’s a bit gluttonous,” Munn said.
“Space exploration was to further our knowledge and to help mankind. What are they gonna do up there that has made it better for us down here?”
Olivia Wilde also echoed the sentiment
Director and actress Olivia Wilde also echoed Munn’s sentiments, sharing a meme on her Instagram Story that featured an image of Katy Perry kissing the ground once stepping down from the New Shepherd rocket with the post saying, “getting off a commercial flight in 2025 #BlueOrigin.”
Wilde captioned it on her Story saying, “Billion dollars bought some good memes, I guess.”
Gayle King didn’t appreciate the criticism
Gayle King, who was on the flight, didn’t appreciate the criticism of the flight, saying on CBS Mornings, “Space is not an either or, it’s a both and, and because you do something in space doesn’t mean you’re taking anything away from Earth. And what you’re doing in space is trying to make things better here on Earth.”
She disagrees that it was a waste
King added, “What Blue Origin wants to do is take the waste here and figure out a way to put it in space to make our planet cleaner. Jeff Bezos has so many ideas, and the people that are working there are really devoted and dedicated to making our planet a better place.”
King believes it was an inspirational move
“There was nothing frivolous about what we do,” King said.
“So, you know, I’m very disappointed and very saddened by it [the criticism]. And I also say this — what it’s doing to inspire other women and young girls? Please don’t ignore that. I’ve had so many women and young girls reach out to me, and men too, by the way. Men too that say, ‘Wow, I never thought I could do that, but I see you doing it at this stage of your life.’”
Munn and Wilde weren’t the only ones to criticize
Model Emily Ratajkowski previously also criticized the launch and Katy Perry’s comments on it.
In a TikTok, she said, “Saying that you care about Mother Earth, and it’s about Mother Earth, and going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that’s single-handedly destroying the planet?”
“Look at the state of the world, and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space, and for what?”
