Jawad Iqbal in the Spectator:
Ray Bradbury, the great science fiction author, had this to say about space exploration: ‘Space travel is life-enhancing, and anything that’s life-enhancing is worth doing. It makes you want to live forever.’ I’d hazard a guess that Bradbury might want to think again if he’d lived to witness what must surely go down in history – if at all – as the most self-indulgent and pointless trip into space. Ever.
Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-31 mission has attracted huge attention because it featured an all-female crew, including Lauren Sanchez (the soon-to-be wife of Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos). The others on board were pop star Katy Perry, TV presenter Gayle King, film-maker Kerianne Flynn, Amanda Nguyen (a civil rights activist and astrophysicist), and Aisha Bowe, an aerospace engineer who worked for Nasa. The rocket launched from Blue Origin’s site in the West Texas Desert and flew the crew over the Karman Line – the internationally recognised boundary of space – at an altitude of 100km (62 miles).
‘It’s not just about going to space, it’s about what all these women bring back and the stories they’re going to be be able to tell, the lives they’re going to be able to touch,’ said Sanchez before the flight. ‘I get to go with five incredible women explorers – storytellers – to inspire new generations to be interested in space exploration,’ she cooed.
Far be it from me to spoil the party, but this is not space exploration. Sanchez is a former TV presenter, about to get married to one of the world’s richest men who just happens to own the space rocket.
Katy Perry has also been drinking from the same fountain of delusional self-indulgence: ‘I’m really excited…We are all made of stardust and it’ll be exciting to see them twinkle from that site and have such an appreciation for Mother Earth when we see it that way’. She went on to suggest the trip would encourage young girls to go into space in the future with ‘no limitations’. Really? Previous passenger trips with Blue Origin have cost more than $1 million (£760,000) a seat. Only for rich girls, then.
It has been reported that the crew trained for all of two days ahead of the trip. Rather depressingly, much of the coverage of their journey into space featured talk of flared jump suits and other fashion accessories. The female crew appeared more than happy with this agenda, saying that lipstick, eyelash extensions and hair styles matter. The bible of female empowerment, according to Katy Perry, goes like this: ‘Space is finally going to be glam…We are going to put the “ass” in “astronaut”’.
Meanwhile:
A year ago Maiden crossed the finish line of a gruelling 33,000 miles and became the the FIRST all-female crew crew to EVER WIN an around the world race. Don't remember it? Maybe they should have worn make up and tight fitting blue jumpsuits….… @maidenfactor #SaveWomensSports pic.twitter.com/WHe3Kt30wK
— Tracy Edwards (@TracyEdwardsMBE) April 15, 2025
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Mick Hartley 
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