Today (14 April), six women are set to launch into space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket. This will mark the first all-female trip to space since Valentina Tereshkova's solo spaceflight in 1963.
The rocket is scheduled for lift off at 08:30 local time (14:30 BST) from West Texas.
Among the passengers are high-profile names including pop icon Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, research scientist Amanda Nguyen, businesswoman Kerianne Flynn, and Bezos’ fiancée, Lauren Sánchez.
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According to Blue Origin's website, New Shepard will travel towards space at 'more than three times the speed of sound.' The crew will pass the Kármán line '62 miles (100 km) above Earth, before unbuckling to float weightless and gaze at our planet.'
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However, after a video of the female crew was shared on X, fans have been savagely calling them out. The video showed the women linking arms around each other's backs praising the rocket and asking it to 'bring them back safe.'
"Katy Perry, Gayle King, Amanda Nguyen, Aisha Bowe, and Kerianne Flynn praise a Blue Origin rocket," the post read. "They’re going to space for 11 minutes on Monday with Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sanchez. Just lost all respect for every one of them for sucking up to Bezos."
Fans drew aim at Katy Perry on social media for her involvement in the project.
"It is indeed painful to watch. What happened to Katy Perry’s “Roar” spirit?" a comment read. "That song was about independence and strength — now she’s gushing over a billionaire joyride like it’s some noble cause," adding: "It’s just corporate vanity wrapped in faux empowerment, and yeah, I lost a lot of respect seeing them play along."
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Other users agreed, writing: "It's so gross" and "Astronauts do this for a reason this is just a bunch of LA women with a lot of money."
The backlash follows recent comments from actress Olivia Munn, who questioned the space company for its wasteful spending. The New Girl star criticised Blue Origin for displaying extravagant wealth during a time of economic hardship around the world and questioned the necessity of the 11-minute space expedition.
"It's so much money to go to space," Munn said. "There's a lot of people who can't even afford eggs [...] I think it's a bit gluttonous."
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The spacecraft is fully autonomous, so no crew will be controlling the vehicle. After the trip, the capsule will return to Earth with a parachute-assisted landing, while the rocket booster will touch down on its own about two miles from where it launched.