Jeff Bezos launched Katy Perry into space for 11 minutes.
That’s it. That’s our big news today. Woo hoo.
You can find a most excellent summary of the whole thing in the Guardian.
Given the mixture of freebie rides and seats sold to the super-rich, the thing people always say about Blue Origin tickets is that prices range from zero to $28m dollars. A bit like a seat on a RyanAir flight to Tallinn. But these spots were all personally gifted by Bezos and Sánchez because this was an Important Mission. Which also meant the whole thing was exclusively documented by Blue Origin’s Pravda-like web channel. Here, the anchors and reporters kept explaining that – unlike when men went to space in the past – this mission was all about emotions. But look, it’s great that we’re valorising emotions above all things, because it gives me permission to say how very much I hated this entire, hilariously vacuous spectacle.
, gushes Perry.
feeling the need to vomit this morning?
David Zaslav Wants a Friendlier Relationship With Trump, Was Told to Be More Like Jeff Bezos
‘Cause, baby, you’re a firework
Come on, show ’em what you’re worth
Make ’em go, “Oh, oh, oh”
As you shoot across the sky
Firework
Song by Katy Perry ‧ 2010
There is a picture of the 6 women together in their blue Galaxy Quest uniforms circulating, and my internet friend Nadine, nearing her forties, commented “my last 6 eggs”.
I’m happy for Katy. Will her next album be “11 Minutes Beyond the Blue”?
OMG…an all female crew. The first ever all-female crew. The previous female-only crew was a solo flight in 1963 flown by Valentina Tereshkova for the USSR. A few MAGAts might choke on that.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s proposed NASA budget for next fiscal year has a nearly 50% cut in NASA’s science budget.
I have no problem with celebrities and wealthy people taking short trips into space, but if that replaces serious scientific study it will be a sad, sad time for space exploration.
Did you see Ronnie Chieng’s (Daily Show) take on why he is to be one of the first all-asian crew?
He’s a ‘disposable’ celebrity.
Calling themselves “crew” these celebrities are, eh?
Good grief.
I query the claim that this crew went into space. The Kármán line, set at 100 km above mean sea-level, is arbitrary. The lowest altitude at which an object in a circular orbit can complete at least one full revolution without propulsion is approximately 150 km – below that, atmospheric drag will pull it down. I’d say that if a specific figure is needed, that’s a better one.
robro@6,
Actually the first all-female (as opposed to all-woman) crew was the unfortunate dog Laika, launched, without any plan to bring her back alive, in 1957. She died of hyperthermia, i.e. roasted to death, on 3rd November.
@Robro:
How many buttons or dials did they touch? Could any of them honestly be called “crew”? “Passengers” is the word that comes to mind (at least my mind). Let them do a 1 hour spacewalk, then I’d take them seriously.
I like how one of the interviewers said “you’re an astronaut now!” At best, she was just ballast.
All of these useless celebrities making short PR jaunts into the upper atmosphere are just spam-in-a-can. There is no purpose to these flights other than to make a billionaire feel smug.
As I mentioned on the infinite thread, KP said words to the effect of “I have always been interested in space physics…and astrology.”
Nuff said.
But she is a competent singer. And anything that brings attention to space before NASA is murdered is good.
@11
Laika did provide inspiration for many later achievements, such as the 1985 film My Life as a Dog, directed by Lasse Hallström.
IMO every space launch and sattelite put in orbit should require a unanimous vote in the UN.
“But she is a competent singer. ”
I’ll let this one go through to the keeper. ;)
My local morning news kept breaking in to cover this yesterday. They kept referring to the people on board as “the crew”. They’re every bit as much the crew on this thing as riders on a Ferris wheel are the crew.
There was one highlight though. It was when Bezos stepped in a hole on his way to the capsule and nearly face-planted. That was the best laugh of my day.
“Self-loading cargo” is what comes to my mind.
So… a bunch of pretty women on full make-up and hair-do, dressed in designer suits that emphasize their female curves, went up to “space” in a penis shaped rocket, funded by an aging bald billionaire, in an experience that, in spite of all the fanfare was finished in just 11 minutes. One of the women describe the experience as something akin to “it was just so dark and quiet”.
I mean… am I the only one that finds this really, really funny!!!!! I mean, this could easily be a sketch in Woody Allen’s “Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)”.
Read a headline on the Guardian this morning (paraphrasing) that said Couldn’t they have sent someone else instead of Katy Perry? I had a tiny mind laugh and went to the next headline.
@21. with the involvement of a billionaire of Bezo’s age, staying up for a whole eleven minutes is pretty good, must have used a lot of technology.
Serious question, did they see anything more than one of the iphone-tied-to-a-weather-balloon youtube videos?
If we can send one forgettable pop star into space, why can’t we send them all?
@KG
Thanks for remembering poor Laika.
OK I’m going there. Six women went for a ride on Jeff Bezos penis rocket and it only lasted 11 minutes. They can now be remembered for redefining the “quickie”.
I have a difficult time generating negative feelings about Katy Perry. She did ok on a Super Bowl halftime show. That’s my main memory of her. I’m not huge into her type of music, but I think she’s done stuff that was listenable. She unfortunately was married to Russell Brand but at least divorced that POS. Egads!
I do dislike Jeff Bezos. She shouldn’t associate herself with that billionaire vermin, but she at least went into a semblance of space on a phallic rocket. Bucket list? So did Denny Crane.
Yeah “Roar” by Katy Perry. That’s the one that launched into my musical memory of her for me. Just started into the kinda silly video (about tigers in a jungle I think). It’s got an earworm hook about 1:32 in. I kinda like that part. Not going to post the song here so as not to trigger anyone.
@20. feralboy12 : Could any of them honestly be called “crew”? “Passengers” is the word that comes to mind “Self-loading cargo” is what comes to my mind.
Like the very first Mercury and Vostok flights. Shades of The Right Stuff there…
Yes, this was a celebrity stunt.
OTOH, if it inspires and gets people intrested in spaceflight and science generally -and i think it will, well, I think the criticism here is pretty churlish. It’s also perhaps telling that this is the first all female flight since Tereshkova’s Vostok 6 one in 1963.
It also shows that space is gradually becoming a bit more accessible to more people which is progress. Positive god news progress in a world where we increasingly see much less of that.
@ 25. hillaryrettig1 & #11. KG
This song and musical tribute to Laika here – Trentemøller – Moan (Trentemøller Remix) 3 and a half minutes long. I always get something in my eye watching this.
PS. There’ll be a fly-by of carbonaceous Erigonian inner-belt asteroid 52246 Donaldjohanson :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/52246_Donaldjohanson
By the Lucy spaceprobe moming up on the 20th April 2025 ie next few days which should be intresting. We can learn form that. We can also learn from human spaceflights like this one too – it’s both / and NOT either / or. Learning also isn’t limited to just scientific learning. It can be cultural and personal and artistic and in other forms. Itwillbe intresting tosee if this experience leads to more songs of science by Katy Perry and her fans get more informed and intretsed as aresult. That might help..
Raising awareness of science and what we can do and fly and potentially learn. Empoowering women even if they didn’t actually pilot the craft manually as the first astronauts also didn’t – but were still deservedly remembered for flying. yeah, I’m gunna buck the trend here and say I think this flight was a relatively good idea and thing..
@ 8. cates : “Did you see Ronnie Chieng’s (Daily Show) take on why he is to be one of the first all-asian crew? He’s a ‘disposable’ celebrity.”
I hadn’t -no. Still haven’t yet. Looking on YT has failed to yet come up with it, sadly.
I doubt anyone is more aware of science and what we can do and fly and potentially learn by this episode; you are asserting without any basis or warrant.
Similarly, this business of “[Empowering] women even if they didn’t actually pilot the craft manually as the first astronauts” is being asserted without any basis or warrant.
Regarding, “… but were still deservedly remembered for flying.” is premature, since this is a current event.
Space cadet you are, so of course you think the benefits exceed the costs.
Me, I’m more of a cynic; for me, this is monkey status stuff; I do get it and obs partake, but sometimes I can see it for what it is.
Hey. Remember Captain Kirk?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shatner#Space_career
@ ^ John Morales : Yes of course I remember Captain Kirk and the actor who played him travelling on a previous Blue Origin flight.
This one has raised awareness and perhaps made Katy Perry fans – a lot of young people – think and made them happy and I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all.
As for the costs, well, its their or their sponsors money and choice so its not like Americans are paying for it in their taxes, the money is,ofc, spent on Earth and there are a LOT, lot worse things that super-rich people spend their money buying and doing.
When I first saw this photo in The Guardian this morning I briefly mistook it for a press release on the upcoming Fantastic Four film. Before my sleepy brain remembered how to count, I wondered which one was Victoria Von Doom and how soon she’d be donning an iron mask and a green cloak in order to cover up her shameful disfigurement.
For those that are saying they don’t care what the rich spend their money on: this is still a giant waste of energy. They claim it uses green hydrogen, but that’s still energy intensive to produce, and liquid oxygen seems to be about 1 ton CO2 per 4 ton O2
This is equivalent to taking a private jet to get a sandwich, except without the sandwich
I still have that Katy Perry “Roar” earworm I induced in myself yesterday. It’s not unpleasant. There are much worse earworms.
K P is neither better or worse than the average pop star in the same record sale league.
And the only major complaint I would have is that she did not [REDACTED] or [REDACTED] him when she was married to Russel Brand.
Myself, I am into slightly odd stuff like Ghost or Ladytron.
-The odd space-themed publicity stunt might make some kid pick up a book and start a lifetime interest. It happened to me at age six.
birgerjohansson @39
Ladytron is pretty good. That’s more my style of music with the electronica.
Never heard of Ghost. One Swedish metal band that had me tapping out was Meshuggah. They go a bit beyond what I can handle in intensity.
this is a whole bucket of ‘meh’. A mildly interesting demonstration of technology – booster lands itself, passengers returned safely to earth after briefly going really high. Not an “accomplishment” by the passengers (or about as much as I am a pilot of a rollercoaster I ride on) . It is interesting that these rocket rides have become routine: just about anyone with the money or connections can go on a ride like this- old, young, skilled or not – that is notoriety- not who the load is
Just to remind everyone, the first all-woman-crewed space flight was Vostok 6, almost 62 years ago.
From Wikipedia:
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vostok_6)
All-woman kinda loses meaning when the cardinality is 1.
The second woman in space was also Soviet :
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova#Legacy
For Svetlana Savitskaya the ratio was one third female to two-third male with he r fellow cosmonauts being Vladimir Dzhanibekov & Igor Volk. (Soyuz T-12 wikipage) and Savitskaya herself :
Source : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svetlana_Savitskaya
Savitskaya is still a member of the Duma for the Communist party – yes even now aged 76..
It wasn’t until Sally Ride’s first flight in 1983 that the first American and third woman in space flew. See :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sally_Ride
Tereshkova has a lunar crater named after her and an asteroid in the main belt 1671 Chaika was named after her call sign.
Scott Manley has just posted his take on a number of things including, most relevantly, the Katy Perry spaceflight here – NASA Budget Cuts vs Pop Stars In Space – Worst Comments Section Ever? Deep Space Updates April 17th which is 23 mins in total but the key section here is between the 4 mins 23 secs mark to the 9 mins 20 secs mark approx and I think Scott Manley sums it up perfectly and is spot on accurate. He says a lot and please do see for yourselves but my fave line there and something absolutely worth noting :
Truth! I strongly second that message. I’ll only add that I think this sort of thing inspires people to become all kinds of scientists too not just space ones and we should be all for it.
“if there’s even one person that decides to be an aerospace engineer because of this then great!”
Fucking fluff.
^ I disagree.
Well, obs you disagree — you were the one who is all enthused about the waste of resources.
It probably cost $10-$15M to send them up for that publicity stunt.
<clickety-click>
https://www.prestigeonline.com/sg/lifestyle/travel/blue-origin-space-tour-cost/
Again, “if there’s even one person that decides to be an aerospace engineer because of this” is not the most effusive encomium one could make — it’s a desperate attempt to put some sort of gloss on this wasted effort.
@ ^ John Morales : Them as in the space tourists who paid their own way or had the costs paid for them by others who so chose. IOW. NOT taxpayers.
Also money that was spent on Earth circulates through the economy here and this flight was part of a business that regularly launches such space tourists and keeps launching such flights with this one only gathering quite so much attention due to being all women and esp launching pop star Katy Perry who has a huge fanbase among young people who might now be aware and inspired because of that. Its made a lot of people happy, got others really talking even if a lot of the attention – like many of the commenst & OP here – is negative. Long term, we’ll we’ll have to wait & see but it may have inspired more pro-science songs and focus and intrest from someone who has a really big audience that pay a lot of attention to what she says and sings. Reckon everyone wins and its a rare good news story in a world that badly needs these right now.
“Reckon everyone wins and its a rare good news story in a world that badly needs these right now.”
Well, lots more pop stars around, so maybe do one of these per month, since it’s so inspiring to the youth. :)
Just after the flight, I looked up Lauren Sánchez on Wikipedia. Among other things (like being Bezos’ partner), she was described as a “commercial astronaut”. I thought that was hilarious. I guess others thought so too, as that occupation has now disappeared from her page.