So, have you been staying abreast of what’s shaking in space? If you’re frequently catching the news, you might have heard that in April 2025, 6 women strapped themselves to one of Amazon founder Jeffrey Bezos’ Blue Origin space rocket. If you went through most headlines, it would have sounded like the participants were “Katy Perry & team”, but it was a group of pretty accomplished women, though there may not have been too much space or astrophysics expertise equally shared by them all.
And who were the ones in this flight touted to be a historic all-women spaceflight? You probably knew that Katy Perry was headlining this. Then, there’s entertainment reporter Lauren Sánchez, who’s said to be engaged to Jeffrey and a licensed pilot. There’s US TV personality Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, civil rights activist and bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyễn and probably, the most qualified amongst them all – aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe. Together, these people formed the crew of Blue Origin’s 11th flight to space under a programme called New Shepard. They’re all women with diverse backgrounds and diverse space qualifications. Woohoo, right?
For 11 fleeting minutes, these women were on top of the world soaring above the rest of us. Just because this lasted only 11 minutes doesn’t mean it may not have been amazing. The last time there was said to be an all-female crewed spaceflight was more than 60 years ago in 1963.
Though, something like this was said to have received both bouquets and brickbats. The world’s on fire, so these folks chose to briefly leave it? Is it a win for the feminist books or is it as if we’re celebrating 6 people going to the Bahamas for a week? Do we cheer that 6 people connected to one of the richest people in the world with not too many space qualifications, save for 1 or 2, got to experience weightlessness and then, come to Texas, so that they might have a renewed sense of purpose and a different perspective of how small we really are? Mark Zuckerberg could have let them know, if he strapped his Metaverse headsets on them all. Or maybe, they could have added a space background filter to their Google Meet or Zoom call.
Hey, maybe, Earth might be deemed to be male-dominated, but, in those 11 glorious minutes, women ruled the cosmos. Though, not all women or people, in general, saw this as a win. Some people were not happy about how expensive it was to quench some people’s dream of seeing space. Some were worried about the environmental repercussions. Does this reframe the narrative for women in STEM and space? Or is it about PR for Blue Origin? Maybe, both objectives could be achieved.
Interestingly, this is at a time when DEI is being bridled in the US, maybe being synonymous with “woke”. And even more interesting is that it’s said that NASA’s equality initiatives are said to be threatened by US federal mandates to remove references to “inclusion” and “DEI” from the NASA web page. A female geologist claimed that a feature that NASA had published about her was removed. It was, also, said that 2 books each having the title “First Woman” about diverse space crews were removed.
It’s an intriguing contradiction with a bit of dissonant messaging: an 11-minute rocket ride screamed women’s empowerment, while womanhood at NASA was subject to a bit of erasure. Though, technically, Blue Origin isn’t responsible for what NASA is doing. But, this crew might not exactly be about meritocracy – what DEI detractors wanted to emphasize – because if it was, then, the most qualified women would have jumped aboard Jeffrey’s space rocket.
It’s said that anyone could book a flight via Blue Origin to edge at space at the edge of space, but it could cost close to $30 million. Maybe, space tourism could become the next playground for the super-wealthy. Someone cutely labelled this as “consumer capitalism at its most inaccessible”.
But, how space-y was this and I don’t mean Kevin. Was there a goal to this mission? Did they collect anything? Kalpana Chawla or Sally Ride or Valentina Tereshkova or Mae C Jemison may have been part of space missions where there was research and exploration. Sure, a pop star got to sing “What A Wonderful World” in space, but that just makes for a good Instagram Reel, nothing more.
Was the April 2025 spaceflight just about window shopping? Based on how expensive it was and how many resources had to be utilized, should one think in terms of “scientific return”? What would have justified the environmental and financial cost?
But, maybe, there might be some benefit to this. Were you aware the last time someone went to space? Did it splash all over the news? Could it be that hearing about someone as high-profile as Katheryn would bring a brighter spotlight on women in space? Or spark some curiosity in a young girl and show her she could do it, too? At the same time, some public school in India or the US are struggling with funding for their science lab and having to sell off their Bunsen burner for a new table.
Some might hail this as “space feminism” or “girlboss rocket feminism”. But, does 6 women logging out of Earth for some time in all profligacy solve existential problems? Does it change things for women? Is this a new frontier for women in space? Sally Ride once recounted that there was a time when NASA suggested she take 100 tampons with her to space for a one-week flight. So, the world might have changed since then.
When Lauren landed, she tearfully declared that the Earth was so quiet, but, also, really alive and that we’re all in this together. Oh, Lauren. Hello, this is not a philosophy class. Unfortunately, this isn’t High School Musical. We are so not in this together. But, maybe, the optimism might be comforting to some. So, “historic”, but for whom? Milestone to signify what?
Even after this all-women crew landed in Texas, has the needle moved after Katheryn kissed the ground and liked it? Maybe, no one rocket flight could singlehandedly solve all the problems that plague Earth.
But, maybe, there’s a tinge of jealousy that all the critics might be experiencing. Would they have turned down a trip to space, if Jeffrey offered it to them for free free free? Would they have wanted to see the curvature of the Earth and reflect on how fragile and meaningful life is?
What’s the follow-through on something like this? Could one of the crew members fund scholarships for aspiring women in STEM? Could it shine a light on those hidden figures working day-to-day in service to humanity via their aerospace work?
Of course, these women might have “broken barriers” in their own ways and thrived in male-dominated environments to get where they are. For instance, Amanda was said to have been fighting for the rights of s*xual assault survivors.
Maybe, the message might be that someone who’s not necessarily a career astronaut might still be relevant to space exploration. Anyone can cook, according to Ratatouille, and anyone can go to space. Maybe, how Akshay Kumar’s Sarfira might have outlined that not just the rich deserve to fly via aeroplanes, this could do that for space. Of course, going to space for a rupee is not yet a thing.
The flight was less than 15 minutes. Of course, people will comment about privilege or PR or elitism or environmental degradation or commercialization or billionaires. But, maybe, the image of 6 women floating about the Earth might somewhat chip away at the unspoken biases that women might face, not just in space, but around the world. Maybe, this can go way beyond some flashy photo op. Maybe, in 1963, when there was an all-women space flight – way ahead of its time, by the way – it changed things. Maybe, the world needed a more contemporary image of that.
Could there have been more qualified women to have undertaken this mission? Maybe. But, it’s already happened. So, one’s lamenting might not change much. But, if it nudges a few extra young girls to engage with STEM and aim to be leaders, there’s something genuine and real here. Unfortunately, it might even be more impactful than Sunita Williams returning from space after 8 months. Sad!
Dear world, maybe, this historic spaceflight team featuring all women accepts the fact that you had to sacrifice 11 minutes plus your chagrin for whatever it is you thought they did wrong. But, you might be crazy if you think it makes them negatively reassess who they think they are. You see them as you want to see them: in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But, what they found out is each of them is different. An entertainment reporter. A broadcaster. A rocket scientist. A civil rights activist. A film producer. And a global pop star.
Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, The Breakfast Club. What a stellar conclusion this is.
