On Monday, April 14, 2025, Katy Perry left the Earth’s atmosphere aboard the Blue Origin capsule. In just 11 minutes, the world -famous star joined a very exclusive club: that of personalities that have seen the earth from space. But this high -level operation – realized with an exclusively feminine team – hides a much more complex reality.
An exclusively feminine crew … for the first time in 60 years
Symbolism is powerful. From the flight of Valentina Terechkova in 1963no manned space mission had been carried out exclusively by women. This time, Six passengers They occupied their place in the capsule New Shepard: The presenter Gayle Kingthe engineer Aisha Bowethe activist Amanda Nguyenthe producer Kerianne Flynn, Lauren Sánchez (Jeff Bezos couple) and, of course, Katy Perry.
The launch from Texas was made without setbacks. At 3:30 p.m. (Paris time), the rocket took off in a suborbital trajectory 100 km high. The objective was to offer a moment of ungravation before descending to the desert in parachutes.
Genuine potentiation or calibrated narration?
In an interview after flight, Gayle King Tell how Katy Perry sang Whatberful What’s What World in zero gravity. An almost too perfect scene not to be scripted. Katy Perry He said he made the flight «By (his) daughter Daisy», born from her union with Orlando Bloomwith the idea of ”inspiring young girls to reach stars.”
The message is clear: the flight intends to be a tribute to the power of womenan act of symbolic transmission. However, the presence of Lauren Sánchezfuture wife of the founder of Blue Origin Jeff Bezosask questions about the true motivation of the flight. Was marketing, inspiration or a media maneuver?
An orbital leisure activity that costs $ 450,000 and 15 tons of CO2
The question of the cost, both economic and ecological, tarnishes the poetry of the flight. Blue Origin refuses to reveal the pricebut its competitor Virgin Galactic offers tickets between 250,000 and $ 450,000. Some passengers have been invited, others have paid, but which ones? The vagueness is deliberate.
Worse, according to weather experts, Each Blue Origin passenger issues almost 15.5 tons of CO2 for a 10 -minute flight. That It is equivalent to seven round trip trips between Paris and Yakarta. For a company that claims to want to inspire, it is a bleak figure. At a time when the planet is burning, this type of ultraluish space experiment raise important ethical issues.
A bet against Spacex and a showcase for the image of the company
This flight is also a message to Spacex ofElon Musk. Since 2021, Blue Origin has been increasing the number of manned missions. This is the eleventh, but the first in Play the letter of diversity and emotion thoroughly. It is also a way for Bezos to reposition Blue Origin as “human” actor in space tourism.
The challenge is huge: how Reconcile inclusion, inspiration and absolute privilege? By offering a glamorous and feminine showcase to a sector that remains elitist, Blue Origin intends to shape a new narrative around space: a more accessible, at first glance.
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