top of page
Search

OPINION: The Blue Origin Rocket Launch: A Multilayered Controversy

  • Olivia Seixas
  • 2 days ago
  • 3 min read

On April 14 th , 2025, all six female passengers of the Blue Origin rocket began and completed their journey from Earth to beyond our atmosphere, marking a historic moment as the first all-female space crew. Katy Perry and five other women, including Jeff Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sanchez, debarked a few days ago from the ship. The flight only lasted about eleven minutes and passed the Karman line about 62 miles above sea level. This all-female flight remains controversial in the public eye, however, as many begin to speculate as to whether this short flight was worth the damage it may have caused to the environment and in its reinforcement of socio-economic disparities.


Pop star Katy Perry is among the six women scheduled to fly into space on Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’s space tourism rocket. It will be the rocket’s first all-female crew. Photo via AOL.
Pop star Katy Perry is among the six women scheduled to fly into space on Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’s space tourism rocket. It will be the rocket’s first all-female crew. Photo via AOL.

Upon returning to our planet, Katy Perry, in an act of relief, kissed the ground in gratitude. She later expressed that this trip helped her feel “super connected to love” –but do others feel the same about this short voyage? Many emphasize the environmental impact of both the manufacturing and the launch of rockets into space. In fact, to manufacture just a small rocket like the New Shepard, about 42 tons of CO2 are emitted into the atmosphere. In comparison, one individual emits about 4.5 tons of CO2 per year, meaning that ten years of one individual’s carbon emissions are roughly equal to the emissions from the manufacturing of one space-flight vessel. While virtually no CO2 is released by the launch of the New Shepard, as expressed by Jeff Bezos, water vapor essentially replaces it as a byproduct of the takeoff. While on the surface this might seem like a positive development in the space flight industry, it is still an ozone- depleting gas, meaning that it alters the chemistry of the stratosphere. The environmental implications of such a seemingly frivolous journey to space are immense, notably due to its short period and distinct lack of actual scientific progress being made.


In 2013, Katy Perry became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, and in taking on this role, she dedicated herself to the combat against climate change and its negative impact on the world’s children. In 2015, she did a weather report to warn against the damage being done to the environment. Ten years later, her actions seem slightly counterintuitive to her original goal of striving for an end to the climate crisis. While in space, Katy Perry sang “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong. While the trip was reverent in its intent, it clearly turned a blind eye to the environmental challenges we currently face.


In addition to the flight’s reinforcement of global climate issues, it also strengthens socio-economic gaps. A seat on a Blue Origin rocket costs around $28 million and requires a $150,000 deposit to begin the order process. This does make sense considering the amount of energy put into the entire operation, but it is also a flagrant display of wealth that only exacerbates contemporary economic issues.


In short, while this brief trip marks a historic moment as the host of an all-female space crew, it has received a great deal of backlash for seemingly prioritizing celebrity spectacle over scientific contribution.



Sources


 


Commenti

bottom of page