On April 14, a spaceship containing an all-female crew of 6 passengers launched into space for just a quick 11 minutes. Headlines plastered that the trip was the “first all-female crew in over 60 years.” Although this sounds like a great feat, many people aren’t impressed.
An important reason why many people aren’t all too pleased with this space trip is because of who is behind the entire thing. The spaceship was made by company Blue Origin, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos. Bezos and his company intended this project to symbolize growth, power and strength for women, but instead came under great scrutiny for creating one of the biggest acts of performative activism that America has seen yet.
The Shepard Mission NS-31 contained six female passengers, all of which happened to be rich and famous. These women include Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerrianne Flynn and Lauren Sánchez, who is conveniently engaged to Bezos. This all-star crew has a lot of people convinced that this was just to promote future flights for the people who can afford it, just like the women who went on this expedition.
People only became more annoyed after finding out the trip only lasted 11 minutes, claiming it was a waste of resources and just one more trip to contribute to climate change.
Instagram activist Matt Bernstein said, “It’s hard for me to appreciate space tourism for people who are killing the planet the rest of us still live on.”
This hits base with a lot of people down here on Earth, as climate change is becoming a growing issue, as well as the state of our economy.
Another reason this short-lived ride is facing controversy is because of its possible means to distract people from what’s going on around them. Many have pointed out that this trip seemed to just be a ploy to distract the public from the state of the government and economy. This would make sense, considering how involved Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos is with other billionaires and members of our government. This makes the already unnecessary trip out of this world even worse than it was.
“If Jeff Bezos can send Katy Perry into space, he can pay a wealth tax so every American has debt-free healthcare,” Nina Turner said on X.
Although the recent space mission might have just been a publicity stunt to promote space tourism, real female astronauts have broken barriers for years in the world of space and science. Instead of focusing on these celebrities-turned-astronauts, we can celebrate the female astronauts that revolutionized women in space as we know it.
One such astronaut was Sally Ride, the first American woman to go to space. She didn’t just go along for the ride, though. She clearly earned her place in the sky. An article about Ride by NASA said, “Ride joined NASA as part of the 1978 astronaut class, the first to include women.”
Another notable female astronaut is Valentina Tereshkova, who made history as the first woman in space. On top of that, she was on a solo mission when it happened. An article by Space said, “She remains the youngest woman to fly to space, the only female astronaut or cosmonaut to make a solo space journey, and the first civilian to journey to space.”
Tereshkova not only set the standards by being the first woman to fly solo to space, but she still remains the only one, a record not even broken by the Shepard Mission NS-31.
While the space mission carting these women thousands of miles into our atmosphere can certainly be conceived as unnecessary, many people still don’t see the truth behind this mission and assume it was a good thing. Though it’s easy to focus on this new and exciting prospect, it’s important to look back at the women who made history in the sky. While there may not be any groundbreaking advancements in space for women at the time being, it’s vital not to lose hope for both Earth and space alike.
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