Blue Origin Flight Launches, Faces Backlash

By Sage Rohrbach

An image of the New Shepard Capsule, the same capsule that carried celebrities Katy Perry and Gayle King. **Courtesy of NASA Flight Opportunities via Wikimedia Commons**

In 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American to travel to space. His mission broke boundaries and was an important milestone in the space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. At the time, Shepard’s journey shocked the masses and expanded the limits of human exploration. Fast-forward 64 years and a space shuttle named after Shepard carries anyone to space — astronauts and civilians alike. New Shepard is a space shuttle owned by Jeff Bezos’ space technology company, Blue Origin.

Blue Origin’s mission is centered around preserving Earth. The company’s goal is to reduce the cost and make space travel as regular as airplane travel. In a video trailer for Blue Origin, Bezos says that “space is vast and practically limitless.” If people can learn how to leverage celestial resources, they can rely on the effectively infinite supply of intergalactic sources rather than Earth’s finite materials to continue human advancement. The idea is to maintain the sanctity of Earth’s natural beauty while simultaneously continuing to use energy to develop new technologies. Blue Origin’s initiatives include using lunar dust to produce solar power systems, power transmission cables, and oxygen for propellants and human consumption. Additionally, efforts are being made to identify water ice on the moon’s south pole for the extraction of hydrogen to refuel landers. The company focuses on reusability as a major factor in reducing the cost of space flight. Each rocket features a vertical takeoff and landing architecture and is powered by reusable, throttleable, liquid propellant engines, allowing it to be reused 25 times. These features will make visits to space more accessible, promoting Blue Origin’s vision of human development existing in the solar system.

Recognizing that this lofty aspiration will require effort across many generations, Blue Origin focuses on inspiring young children to pursue STEM projects and careers. On April 14, Blue Origin’s all-female crew did just that. The team was made up of six women, including pop star Katy Perry, Jeff Bezos’ fiancée Lauren Sánchez, journalist Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist and civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and filmmaker Kerriane Flynn.

The flight housed the first all-female crew since 1963, when Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova flew solo. The flight lasted approximately 11 minutes, during which Katy Perry sang “What a Wonderful World.” Upon landing on Earth, Perry kissed the ground, sharing that her time in space dramatically shifted her perspective and gave her a new appreciation for Earth.

Despite many positive reactions to the mission, some have criticized the journey as gluttonous and touristy. It is frustrating to astronauts that celebrities can go to space for amusement and get more attention than their own scientific missions. Another point of contention is that, while Blue Origin advertises making space travel accessible, the company is only accessible to the extremely wealthy, with travelers paying a deposit of $150,000 just to reserve a seat.

Additionally, public opinion questions Blue Origin’s preparation schedule. Under U.S. law, astronauts must complete comprehensive training for their specific roles. Blue Origin claims to meet this requirement with a two-day intensive training that focuses on physical fitness, emergency protocols, and safety measurements in zero gravity. Compared to NASA’s two-year training program, however, Blue Origin’s minimal program appears severely inadequate.

Critics also argue that, beyond inspiring future generations, New Shepard’s trips have little other purpose and appear to be a waste of resources, even if they are reusable. Some question Bezos’ ambitions in harnessing cosmic resources, hesitant about the possibility that the perpetual use of resources may similarly damage the solar system as anthropogenic activities are wearing on Earth.

Despite the impressive progress that has been made in only 64 years, the question remains whether or not such progress should continue. It is difficult to draw a line between potential benefits in preserving Earth’s sanctuary and potential drawbacks in relying on intergalactic materials. Ultimately, while future generations may still be encouraged to advance achievements in space exploration, they may also benefit from being cautioned about its implications on our own planet.