Katy Perry made history on April 14, 2025, as the first pop star to sing in space, joining an all-female crew on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket for a whirlwind 11-minute trip to the edge of outer space and back. The mission, dubbed NS-31, launched from West Texas and crossed the Kármán line—62 miles above Earth—giving Perry and her crewmates a brief taste of weightlessness and jaw-dropping views of the planet. But while the trip was billed as a trailblazing moment for women, it’s also stirred up a storm of criticism, with some calling it a glitzy PR stunt that’s out of touch in tough times. Here’s the full scoop on Perry’s cosmic jaunt and why it’s got everyone talking.
The Mission: A Star-Studded Spaceflight
Perry was part of a six-woman crew that included Lauren Sánchez (Jeff Bezos’ fiancée), journalist Gayle King, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and filmmaker Kerianne Flynn. The flight, Blue Origin’s 11th human mission, marked the first all-female space crew since Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo orbital trip in 1963. The New Shepard, a fully autonomous rocket, soared to 107 kilometers, letting the women float for about four minutes, soak in views of Earth and the moon, and snap some unforgettable moments before parachuting back to a dusty Texas landing.
Perry brought her signature flair, holding up a butterfly-shaped paper mid-flight with her tour setlist (though the writing was too tiny to read) and serenading her crew with Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” as they drifted in zero gravity. She also carried a daisy, a nod to her 4-year-old daughter, Daisy, whom she shares with Orlando Bloom. After landing, Perry kissed the ground dramatically, saying she felt “super connected to love” and promising a space-inspired song for her upcoming work. Gayle King, who overcame her fear of flying, echoed the awe, calling the silence of space “peaceful” and a reminder to “do better, be better” on Earth.
The Hype: Glam, Grit, and Galactic Firsts
The crew leaned hard into the mission’s feminist framing, rocking custom royal-blue spacesuits designed by Sánchez and luxury brand Monse, complete with flared pants and bold “Blue Origin” patches. Perry quipped they were “putting the ass in astronaut,” while Sánchez joked about fake eyelashes floating in the capsule. The pre-flight buildup was pure spectacle—an Elle digital cover, star-studded onlookers like Oprah Winfrey, Kris Jenner, and Khloé Kardashian, and a livestream that hyped the 11-minute ride like a Super Bowl halftime show.
For Perry, it was a bucket-list moment. She’d been itching to go to space for nearly 20 years, telling Elle she was “first in line” when Blue Origin started commercial flights. Her playlist, dubbed “Space Sistas,” included her own “E.T.,” Nicki Minaj’s “Starships,” and David Bowie’s “Starman.” The mission’s historic angle resonated too—crew members like Bowe and Nguyen brought personal touches, like a flag from Apollo 12 or a hospital bracelet symbolizing healing from assault, tying their stories to broader themes of empowerment and resilience.
The Backlash: “A Waste of Space”?
Not everyone’s clapping. Critics slammed the trip as a tone-deaf vanity project, especially given its eye-watering cost—estimated at $500,000 to millions per seat, with Blue Origin requiring a $150,000 deposit just to apply. Posts on X and comments from celebs like Olivia Munn and Emily Ratajkowski called it “gluttonous” and “end times shit,” pointing to the stark contrast between the crew’s joyride and global struggles like poverty or environmental crises. Munn, on Today, quipped that “people can’t even afford eggs,” while Wendy’s even took a jab, tweeting, “Can we send her back?”
Environmental concerns hit hard too. Rocket launches, even suborbital ones, can harm the ozone layer and spew greenhouse gases, drawing parallels to flak celebs like Taylor Swift get for private jets. Some argued the mission’s “for the benefit of Earth” tagline rang hollow when it seemed more about rich folks chasing thrills than advancing science. Others, like The Guardian’s Zoe Williams, called it a “dumb waste of money,” noting the crew—mostly non-experts—were passengers, not astronauts, on a rocket that flies itself. The Slate piece went in, saying Perry’s ground-kissing was like a “soldier returning from war, not a multimillionaire on the world’s shortest influencer trip.”
Defending the Dream
The crew pushed back. King, visibly stung, told Extra that critics should “do more due diligence” and visit Blue Origin to see its work, arguing the mission inspired “girls, women, and some guys” to dream big. Sánchez got “fired up,” defending the thousands of employees pouring their hearts into these flights. They framed it as a step toward making space more accessible, with Blue Origin aiming to slash costs through reusable rockets. King also resented the term “ride,” insisting it was a “journey” with lasting impact.
Supporters see it as a cultural win, breaking the “pale, male, stale” mold of space travel. Fans on X celebrated Perry’s milestone, with one calling her “the first pop star to sing in space,” and praised the crew’s diversity—Aisha Bowe became the first Black woman on a Blue Origin flight, and Nguyen the first Vietnamese woman. Some argue the criticism’s unfair, noting that space tourism, while elite now, could pave the way for broader access, much like early air travel did. At its core, Perry’s trip was a fleeting but symbolic moment. The 10-minute, 21-second flight didn’t change the world, but it did spotlight women in a field long dominated by men. For Perry, it’s another feather in her cap—already a polarizing figure after her 2024 album 143 flopped, she’s now got a cosmic story to tell, likely fueling new music and her upcoming tour starting April 23 in Mexico City.
The debate, though, cuts deeper. Is space tourism a step toward progress or a billionaire’s playground? Does it inspire or alienate? For every fan hyped about Perry’s “Wonder”-soundtracked space video, there’s a critic rolling their eyes at the optics. As The Atlantic put it, Perry’s the kind of star who “doesn’t mind looking kind of stupid,” which might be why she was game for this wild ride. Love it or hate it, her 11 minutes in space have left a mark—on her, on Blue Origin, and on a world still figuring out what space means for the rest of us.