Featured Image Credit: Blue Origin/YouTube
Topics: Space, Blue Origin, Katy Perry, Jeff Bezos, Celebrity, Social Media, US News, World News
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Space, Blue Origin, Katy Perry, Jeff Bezos, Celebrity, Social Media, US News, World News
Blue Origin's all-women crew has hit back at criticism of the space mission after it was branded 'gluttonous'.
Yesterday (April 14), an all-women crew - made up of Katy Perry, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, documentary producer Kerianne Flynn, bio aeronautical research scientist Amanda Nguyễn and author and journalist Lauren Sánchez, who's also engaged to Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos - went to space as part of Blue Origin's latest mission.
The flight was the first all-women crew to launch into space since 1963 when Valentina Tereshkova was sent into orbit by herself by the Soviet Union.
The mission came under fire from other celebrities, Olivia Munn branding it 'a bit gluttonous' given some people 'can't even afford eggs' - and actors Amy Schumer and Olivia Wilde also poking fun at the mission.
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However, crew members have since responded.
King argued 'anybody that's criticizing' the mission 'doesn't really understand what is happened here' citing 'the response' the team has been getting 'from young women' and from 'young girls' about what it means to them.
Sánchez added to PEOPLE that she gets 'really fired up' over any negativity towards the mission.
Speaking of any critics, she added: "I would love to have them come to Blue Origin and see the thousands of employees that don't just work here but they put their heart and soul into this vehicle.
"They love their work and they love the mission and it's a big deal for them.
"So when we hear comments like that, I just say, 'Trust me. Come with me. I'll show you what this is about, and it's, it's really eye-opening'."
During a press conference, Bowe - a former NASA rocket scientist - reflected on a time in high school where she was told she wouldn't be 'suited for this field'
She recalled: "When I decided that I was going to pursue aerospace engineering, it was after my high school guidance counselor told me that I should pursue cosmetology because she did not think that I would be suited for this field.
"I went from pre-algebra in community college to two degrees in aerospace engineering to working for NASA to being able to sit on the stage and say it is bigger than the criticism."
Before the trip, Perry spoke out about seeing the opportunity to go to space as part of an all-women crew as a way to not only make space 'glam' but also to 'inspire' a 'whole new generation' - including her daughter Daisy.
"To never have limits on [their] dreams and show [them] that any type of person can reach their dreams no matter your background, your ethnicity, your economic situation, or your education level," Perry argued.
Nguyễn added: "I think it’s so important for people to see us like that. This dichotomy of engineer and scientist, and then beauty and fashion.
"We contain multitudes. Women are multitudes. I’m going to be wearing lipstick."