The fan "shock" is only over the sheer randomness. Katy Perry in space! I wasn't thinking about that.
As for "historic"... I'm reminded of the old Samuel Johnson quote: "Sir, a woman’s preaching is like a dog’s walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all." That is, calling this non-achievement "historic" is actually a sexist putdown.
@dailymail Pop star Katy Perry and journalists Gayle King and Lauren Sanchez, who is also billionaire Jeff Bezos' fiancée, are set to blast off into space on a Blue Origin rocket, marking the first all-female flight crew in more than six decades. The New Shepard rocket, a 59-foot tall suborbital spacecraft, will carry the crew to the Kármán line, the internationally recognized boundary of space, Bezos-owned Blue Origin said in a statement. Passengers will experience a few minutes of microgravity before returning to Earth via parachute-assisted landing in the West Texas desert. Read full story on DailyMail.com. Link in bio. 📷 Reuters / Lauren Sanchez Instagram / Blue Origin #space #travel #jeffbezos #news ♬ Inspirational - neozilla
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It has to be asked. How many are coming back?
Hopefully it doesn’t land upside down.
Aw, c'mon. It's cool! All of these women are financially successful enough to afford the fee and are brave enough to risk space travel.
You think all tourism is stupid, so what is fresh and newsworthy about this post?
Any thinking women on board?
Grrrll power! Plus, she'll be able to save on a few Botox injections while she's up there, with her face floating around all by itself.
Listing her first, with her age, was Cruel Neutrality at its interstellar best (angry, catty meow sound)
Also, you’re not part of the “crew” when you fly on an airplane. You’re a passenger. I would say that the same is true of space tourists going for a quick jaunt of weightlessness and the edge of the atmosphere. Let’s not overglorify their status.
Somehow I'm reminded of the old Muppet Show segment, Pigs in Space.
At least they’ll have a good time in Texas.
"Also, you’re not part of the “crew” when you fly on an airplane. You’re a passenger. I would say that the same is true of space tourists going for a quick jaunt of weightlessness and the edge of the atmosphere. Let’s not overglorify their status."
That's why I'm saying space tourism is stupid. There's no achievement involved. They're not piloting or doing science experiments. They're just strapped in. Might as well brag about going on a roller coaster... if only it was some sort of million-dollars-a-ride roller coaster. Whee!
Then there's the part where the tourists look out the little window and have the insight that everyone before them has already had and they report it as if it's news.
I agree with the general sentiment above, but I will say this: it's not a roller coaster or a 747. There is a certain amount of bravery involved in this.
Riding on Beezos’ phallic-shaped rocket ship it should be called Spoogenik.
Katy Perry seems to have lost her luster as a pop star. The two biggest Western ones are Taylor Swift and Beyonce, maybe the scrappy Chappell Roan is an up-and-comer, but globally I think the kiddos are more interested in K-Pop as a whole.
It will be of great service to Science to see how all of Lauren’s plastic parts do in the outer atmosphere !
My younger son was genuinely shocked to hear that Amelia Earhart -- "The First Woman to Fly Across the Atlantic" -- made her historic journey as a passenger while two guys up front did the piloting and navigation. After being processed through modern education, he still imagined that "First Woman to -- " meant something. Recall Althouse's First Law.
(Yes, I am well aware Earhart flew solo across the Atlantic a few years later.)
Obviously you can send a woman into space..
The FIRST astronaut was a bitch named Laika
Astronauts are JUST spam in a can.. That is: Payload
They Don't DO Anything.. except whine and bark
I just hope this female space ride civilian spectacle turns out better than the one in 1986.
I certainly hope that Lauren Sanchez is being a good wife. Lots of ways to get out of prenups when you're sending your broad into outer space.
I'm slightly curious to know something about the fans of Lauren Sanchez, Katy Perry, and CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King who weren't shocked by the announcement.
Gotta start somewhere... hell I'd go to just for the experience. People climb mountains, explore jungles, dive 1000s of feet into the oceans... leaning how these people react to the dangers of space travel will be valuable for longer flights to Mars or the moon.
Bang! Bang! Shoot em' up, destiny
Bang! Bang! Shoot em' up to the moon
Bang! Bang! Shoot em' up one, two, three
One, two, three, four
I wanted to be a spaceman
That's what I wanted to be
But now that I am a spaceman
Nobody cares about me
Hey, Mother Earth
Won't ya bring me back down
Safely to the sea?
But 'round and around and around and around
Is all she ever say to me
Tank said...
"I agree with the general sentiment above, but I will say this: it's not a roller coaster or a 747. There is a certain amount of bravery involved in this."
OK, Tank. It's a scary carnival ride. Like MT Everest. All it takes is money and stamina and a lot of the tourists don't have the stamina.
On the Blue Origin New Sheppard vehicle, the system is fully automated. These women will be passengers in a very expensive 10 minute thrill ride, as was everyone else who rode it on previous flights. None of them will have any control over the rocket or capsule, so calling them crew is a stretch. If I had a lot of money to burn, I wouldn’t hesitate to book a ride. I have enough money to pay for a seat, but that money would also pay for a few years of retirement.
Pretty shrewd of Bezos to minimize the cost of using this historic crew, since if they return with a water landing at least two of them won't need any flotation device. If he had included Sydney Sweeney they all could just cling to her until the recovery ship arrives. You Da Man, Jeff.
The really shocking thing would be if they announced they were going into space and not coming back.
Doing the full Neil Armstrong might be worth something, but a puny Alan Shepard isn't worth much.
BTW Is it strange that NASA and the media lionized John Glenn and let Shepard be forgotten? Or maybe he wanted it that way himself?
Can you imagine if one of the tourists was Melania or Ivanka?
I agree with Paul. I'm jealous. I'd love to go for a rocket ride and see the view from there and come back and annoy people by talking about it non-stop. I'd tell people who'd never be able to afford it that it was better than sex even if it wasn't.
In historic first, dumb nail pounder is heading to space.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkeys_and_apes_in_space
boobs in space.
Just sit there and look pretty.
Ann - I agree with everything you are saying.
(Although... hmmm. - what happens to fake breasts in space?) anything?
This isn't flying on a commercial airliner. A significant amount of training is conducted by the so-called tourists before the flight. And make no mistake, every stinking rocket launch with human beings on board is a test flight. Catty jealousy is ugly.
I get it. They're just going for a ride to the Karman Line and back. But, hell, I'd go if it was offered.
Get ready for the first all POC crew, all trans crew, all LGB crew, etc. Gee, I wonder why DEI failed the meritocracy test so badly?
"Spam in a can."
From the movie, "The Right Stuff."
We'll finally get an answer to that age-old problem: Are bras needed in space?
I will say that the Space Shuttle crashed on 2 of 135 flights and it will be a while till I’m convinced that Crew Dragon or Mr. Bezo’s vehicles are any safer.
A significant amount of training is conducted by the so-called tourists before the flight.
14 hours over 2 days. Most of it is classroom training. Some of it in a static simulator to become familiar with the interior of the vehicle and some at the pad to become familiar with ground operations.
I'll admit, a discovery flight that puts a person in the left seat and at the controls of a small GA aircraft has less training, but a good instructor will still have some ground school and aircraft familiarization before flying. Not what anyone would call "significant amount".
Look at the bright side; maybe it won't just be a ballistic shot. Maybe something will happen and they'll get stuck in orbit and drama will ensue as they argue over who gets jettisoned to conserve oxygen! It could be quite entertaining.
Are they designing these rockets to look like giant penises on purpose?
I stand corrected Leland. I didn't specify blue origin when I googled it. You are right. Because everything is fully automated the training only lasts a couple days. Like what Chuck Yeager said anybody who goes up in that thing is just Spam in a can.
If Katy Perry doesn't do a Ziggy Stardust reboot (Siggy Starsparkle? Or is that already one of the My Little Ponies? ) this is all a big waste of attention?
"but a puny Alan Shepard isn't worth much."
yep.. a 10 minute flight, is SO 1961..
Speaking of "it's COOL! because it's DANGEROUS!"
you know what WOULD BE cool?
Trying Flying (DYING!) in a replica Wright Flyer
Have you ever listened to Katy sing without the voice-corrector? eeee.
Tom Wolfe captured the paradoxical nature of space piloting when he reported on the widespread characterization of the first astronauts (great pilots all) as "spam in a can". Good luck to the ladies. It does take some courage to do this. Hope they have a great ride.
OTOH, it would make a great Twilight Zone episode if alien life forms hijacked the flight and brought the three of them to a carefully constructed alternate world. Catfight! Mee-ow!
I'd probably puke my guts out and lay there not caring if I lived or died.
I wonder if Jeff Bezos suggested this, hey honey how about a quick spin in space, you'll have fun. Hopefully it all goes well, at least they'll float if it crashes into the sea.
When I see Lauren Sanchez I’m reminded of this very old joke:
There was a very rich man who had 3 mistresses.
One day he decided it was time to get married. But he couldn’t decide between the 3 of them. So he devised a test. He gave each mistress $100,000. A month later he visited the first mistress and asked what she did with the money.
“I always want to look my best for you so I spent it all on clothes.”
Then he visited his second mistress. “I learned from you and I invested all the money in the stock market.”
When he visited his 3rd mistress she said, “You always say moderation in everything, so I spent half of the money in clothes and I invested the rest.”
Which mistress did the very rich man marry?
Answer: The one with the biggest boobs.
Hystoric
I always kept some slight positive G so that the dust stays on the floor.
"Are they designing these rockets to look like giant penises on purpose?"
If Musk's people had designed that rocket, they would have called it "Biggus Dickus."
The entire flight is automated and monitored by ground controls. The space craft only goes up to 62 miles, subspace, stays for a couple minutes and goes back to earth. The craft lands itself. They aren't "crew", they're passengers. As stated above its like going on airplane, assuming the airplane was fully automated.
BTW, the space station is at 250 miles.
Sorry, didnt see other posts that have said the same thing. But anyway, its absurd and dishonest to call them "The crew" which implies they are somehow involved in flying the space craft. They are passengers. And its nice they are going, but its not particularly dangerous. I mean 1000 y/o bill shatner went.
Unlike true bravery,(running into a burning building), everyone involved in this has a reasonable belief they will arrive back alive. Just like the people that ride roller coasters. Just like those people who rode that dodgey submersible.
Every space tourist better permanently shut up about any concern about climate change. What's the carbon footprint for each of these self-promoting clowns?
Jaq said...
"Are they designing these rockets to look like giant penises on purpose?”
We’ll, there’s this thing called aerodynamics in general and drag in particular that drives the shape of rockets.
Do you suppose any one of the three was in a position to refuse this "opportunity"?
They are celebrity passengers. Their pilots could be, might be DEI hires. Or they might simply be brilliant, accomplished women. (their degrees and the universities mean nothing anymore, DEI has so diluted that meaning). But in any case, keep your fingers crossed. Let's hope the actual crew is the best of the best, and not just some gender performance.
Carbon footprint doesn't count for private jets or yachts or 3rd mansions or rocket rides. It only counts for pickup trucks and gas water heaters and the people in sitting in coach. It's science.
I'm intrigued by the historic flight of Katy Perry. I hope she wears a great outfit. All of us wonder what cleavage will look like in outer space Perhaps zero gravity is a kind of push up bra. These are questions worth asking and answering....Perhaps someday these flight will advance some other useful purposes. I wouldn't mind going to Australia or Japan if it only involved a half hour space flight. Maybe flights such as these will help bring that about.
"The entire flight is automated and monitored by ground controls. The space craft only goes up to 62 miles . . ."
Lauren, "Jeff, you come along too. We can become the only members of the 62 Mile High Club."
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