Lauren Sánchez’s journey into outer space with her handpicked all-female team will certainly be historic, but amid the current economic uncertainty and political turmoil, some are questioning if it sends out the right message.
Sánchez, 55, the pneumatic fiancée of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, will make her first ever visit to space in reusable rocket New Shephard, owned by her man’s Blue Origin space company.
Sánchez will be joined by pop princess pal Katy Perry, with whom she has shared many luxury vacations, CBS morning news host Gayle King, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist and astronaut Amanda Nguyen and film producer Kerianne Flynn.
Their 11 minute flight will blast off early Monday morning from Blue Origin’s Van Horn, Texas base.
The flight crew are spending the weekend finishing training and preparing, Page Six is told. The mission will allow them to experience zero gravity – but they have raised eyebrows after joking they will fly while fully glam, complete with fake eyelashes, lipstick and blowouts.
Indeed, Perry, 40, who said she has wanted to go to space for 20 years, boasted she planned to put the ‘ass’ in astronaut, prompting Olivia Munn to question the flight’s relevance while so many people are struggling economically.
During a recent episode of “Today with Jenna & Friends,” guest host Munn mocked the girl power space trip, calling it “gluttonous”.
“I know this is not the cool thing to say, but there are so many other things that are so important in the world right now… if you want to go to space, why do you need to tell us about it?
“Just go up there, have a good time, come on down. I know this is probably obnoxious, but like, it’s so much money to go to space, you know? And there’s a lot of people who can’t even afford eggs.”
“It was all organic – nothing was preconceived,” a TV insider told Page Six of Munn’s comments, “The hosts know the topics beforehand, but the producers really want that element of surprise and I think Olivia just said what everybody else is thinking. People appreciate that.”
To this, an insider familiar with the mission pointed out that no-one had mocked GMA host Michael Strahan or Star Trek icon William Shatner when they flew to space on previous Blue Origin flights.
“Why do people always have to go for that stereotype and tear down other women?” questioned the insider, “This crew shouldn’t have to leave behind who they are to go to space.”
“Who would not get glam before the flight?!” asked Sánchez, whose fiancé founded the spaceflight company in 2000. “We’re going to have lash extensions flying in the capsule!”
“Will the lashes stay on? I’m curious,” asked King, to which Sánchez replied during a cover shoot with Elle magazine, “Mine are glued on. They’re good.”
Perry added: “Space is going to finally be glam.”
Bowe shared that she already has a makeup look and hairstyle in mind. “I skydived in Dubai with similar hair to make sure I would be good — took it for a dry run,” she revealed.
“I think it’s so important for people to see us like that,” said Nguyen, “This dichotomy of engineer and scientist, and then beauty and fashion. We contain multitudes. Women are multitudes. I’m going to be wearing lipstick.”
Perry admitted her first thought was, “What am I going to wear?” (We’re told the crew will be wearing Blue Origin uniforms).
The whole conversation was “light hearted”, the insider stressed, “This is a group of people who are challenging themselves with new opportunity. But it doesn’t mean they can’t bring joy, humor and even glam to the experience.”
Blue Origin is touting it as the first all-female spaceflight since 1963, when the Soviet Union’s Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel to space on a three-day solo mission.
Each spaceflight takes passengers just past the Kármán line — 62 miles above Earth, which is considered the threshold of space, where they can experience zero gravity.
Despite the chat about fake lashes, Dr. Patrick Binning, Space Engineering Instructor at Johns Hopkins University told Page Six, “These are cultural moments that are shifting our attention to the stars and where our country is taking humanity.
“Space flight ensures our humanity’s evolution – all the investments matter.”
Janeya Griffin of the Equity Space Alliance Association, pointed out the benefits of the flight – which include collecting biomedical data from women of color, testing spacecraft capabilities for future research or humanitarian uses and inspiring young girls and marginalized communities to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers.
“These missions are not about joyrides—they’re about pushing boundaries, collecting data, and shaping the future,” she added to Page Six.
Dr. Binning, who has spent his career building spacecraft, is also an advocate for private companies working in the space sphere.
“Even 10 years ago, space was only really for NASA and the military; today this frontier is opening up to investors and dreamers. Eventually the costs are going to [go] down so we can all go to space.
Space expert Eric Ingram also pointed out how the flight is likely to inspire young people and get them interested in science and space exploration.
“You are able to picture yourself in their shoes because they look like you, he said, adding: “Every human space flight gets us closer to humanity embarking on becoming a multi planetary space civilization.”
“And there’s more going on than meets the eye, Blue Origin is collecting a ton of data, and learning a lot from every flight.”
Sanchez told Elle she chose each of the women because of their proven ability to inspire others.
Ahead of New Shepard Mission NS-31, news anchor King, 70, said on Friday, “The group of women that they put together is so extraordinary to me that I thought, ‘Wow. Why would I not wanna be a part of that?’”
She has made it no secret that she’s nervous and said she’s “still processing” things ahead of the launch, adding, “I’ll be ready Monday morning, I promise. God can dream a bigger dream for you than you can dream for yourselves. It also tells you what’s possible at this age.”
Read the full article here
