Blue Origin’s All-Female Spaceflight: A Historic Win for Women or a Luxury Trip for the Rich?

Blue Origin’s All-Female Spaceflight: A Historic Win for Women or a Luxury Trip for the Rich?

KAKALI DAS

Blue Origin, the space company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, recently launched its first all-female spaceflight.

However, the women aboard were not scientists or astronauts. They were celebrities and public figures — pop icon Katy Perry, CBS presenter Gayle King (also known as Oprah Winfrey’s best friend), film producer Kerianne Flynn, former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, and most notably, Lauren Sánchez — a journalist, philanthropist, but also Jeff Bezos’ fiancée.

The media hailed the event as a “historic, monumental feminist movement,” but the reality was that six women boarded a sleek spacecraft, flew just to the edge of space — 100 kilometers above sea level — and returned to Earth in 11 minutes.

This was only the second all-women spaceflight in history, the first being in 1963 during a Soviet mission. But the distinction is stark — that earlier mission was true space exploration aimed at advancing human understanding and developing critical technologies. In contrast, this recent flight was part of space tourism — essentially a high-priced joyride that wealthy individuals pay for, to momentarily reach space and return.

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While Blue Origin branded this flight a “trailblazing moment” for women, is it really a significant historical marker? Tickets for these flights reportedly cost around $150,000 (approximately ₹1.5 crore), though some seats in the past have been auctioned for as much as $28 million (₹234 crore). That’s the financial cost of this joyride that’s being framed as a landmark for feminism.

But what about the environmental cost? Katy Perry, during the mission, reportedly sang about the “beautiful Earth” — but what was the actual price paid by the planet for this spectacle? One single 11-minute space tourism flight emits around 75 tonnes of carbon dioxide per passenger — a total of roughly 274 tonnes of CO₂, equivalent to the annual emissions of one average person in Thailand.

“So what was the purpose of this mission? It wasn’t scientific, nor did it contribute to our understanding of space. It was a luxury joyride. Which brings us to the core issue: does this flight truly serve the cause of feminism?”

Even though Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket uses water vapour instead of CO₂-heavy fuels, the environmental impact isn’t negligible. Studies from University College London reveal that soot particles from these rockets, when released in the upper atmosphere, have a warming effect 500 times greater than traditional jet fuel emissions. Additionally, high-altitude emissions can severely affect the ozone layer.

So what was the purpose of this mission? It wasn’t scientific, nor did it contribute to our understanding of space. It was a luxury joyride. Which brings us to the core issue: does this flight truly serve the cause of feminism?

Globally, women are disproportionately affected by conflict, war, poverty, sexual violence, climate change, and systemic inequalities like the gender pay gap — where women still earn around 83 cents to a man’s dollar. When water runs out, when disease strikes, when temperatures rise — women bear the brunt. In that context, is this flight an empowering moment, or a distraction?

Visually, the mission had all the trappings of a curated photo-op. Sleek jumpsuits, perfect hairstyles, half-unzipped for effect — it resembled more of a red carpet event than a ground-breaking mission. Yes, a woman flying to the edge of space is a moment to be acknowledged. But is it really a feminist milestone, or simply a case of women participating in elite capitalism — just like men have done for years?

If anything, perhaps the real message here is that wealthy women can now enjoy the excesses of capitalism — including luxury space tourism — just as much as wealthy men. But let’s not confuse this with progress in women’s participation in space science or aerospace leadership.

“Globally, women are disproportionately affected by conflict, war, poverty, sexual violence, climate change, and systemic inequalities like the gender pay gap — where women still earn around 83 cents to a man’s dollar. When water runs out, when disease strikes, when temperatures rise — women bear the brunt. In that context, is this flight an empowering moment, or a distraction?”

Adding complexity to this story is Blue Origin itself. A 2021 Vanity Fair article revealed deep-rooted issues within the company. In an open letter, 24 former employees described the work culture as “sexist and toxic,” prioritizing billionaire rivalries over flight safety. They highlighted that the company, with over 3,600 employees, was predominantly male and white, with 100% of its senior technical and leadership roles held by men — a clear reflection of gender bias.

Zooming out, the aerospace sector remains heavily male-dominated. Globally, women make up just 20–22% of the workforce in this field, and that number drops at leadership levels. NASA’s workforce includes about 34% women, but in technical roles that figure falls to 24%. In the UK space sector, women comprise 29%, and in the EU, it’s 20% or less. Only 11% of all astronauts in history have been women, and at NASA, women represent around 10% of astronauts.

This makes it clear that real feminist milestones in aerospace remain rare. And while Gayle King insisted that this mission was “a freaking journey, not a joyride,” and the other women on board have dismissed online criticism, we must be honest in our analysis.

Let’s not belittle the individual achievements or joy of these six women. Their presence in that spacecraft does symbolize a certain kind of equality — the kind that exists among the wealthiest humans on Earth. But let’s also not overstate the moment. This was not a transformative leap for feminism in aerospace — it was a reflection of what’s possible when money and influence meet space tourism.

And finally, in a broader context where DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) initiatives are being rolled back in organizations like NASA due to political shifts, real progress for women in science and space remains a pressing challenge.

Yes, celebrate the visibility. But let’s call this flight what it truly was — a high-profile capitalist experience for the privileged — and keep working toward real systemic change for women everywhere.

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