Members of the New Shepard NS-31 “crew” have responded to criticism of their space flight.
Yesterday, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin touted the success of its first all-female space flight. Its six-person team, including Jeff’s fiancée Lauren Sánchez, Gayle King, and Katy Perry, was the first time an all-female crew had been to space in 60 years.
However, the flight was the subject of ample criticism even before it left Earth. The actual utility of such a mission for a private space tourism company was questioned, as the entire trip to the Kármán line in the autonomous ship amounted to around 11 minutes.
In a press conference following the ship’s landing, the women were asked by People how they’d respond to critical comments. Gayle responded, “I feel that anybody that’s criticizing doesn’t really understand what is happening here. I’ve heard it, we’ve all heard it.”
“I hope that they will do a deep dive into what this represents. We can all speak to the response we’re getting from young women, young girls about what this represents,” the talk show host continued. “This is really a lot of work, what went into getting us up and getting us down.”
Lauren then said, “I get really fired up a little bit on this. 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. Rocket scientists, engineers, all kinds of people, 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 really eye-opening,'” Lauren continued.
Former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe said on the issue, “I wish those who were criticizing the mission could read the messages in my inbox. 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 doing two degrees in aerospace engineering, to working for NASA, to being able to sit on this stage and say it is bigger than the criticism. I am seeing boys and girls around the world say, ‘I’m inspired, and I see myself in this crew.'”
“We all are no stranger to watching Star Trek. And what did they have? They have artists, they have musicians, they have journalists, they had all people on the crew because we need all of us. And when I look at this stage, and I’m sitting with these incredible women, we advanced science today,” she continued.
Aisha further claimed, “More people are going to be able to do meaningful research with Blue Origin because we collected data. And it wasn’t just plant biology — we studied human physiology, we contributed to the knowledge base of what people know about women. We flight-qualified hardware, so that more people could use our hardware to fly. It is bigger than the criticism. We are inspiring the world right now.”
Despite Amazon rolling back its DEI initiatives in recent months, film producer Kerianne Flynn also said of Blue Origin and Jeff Bezos, “We had a female crew number seven who exhaustedly, wonderfully, and patiently trained us and prepared us for every possible situation. We also had a lead capsule communications person, she was amazing. Jeff is also working toward equity in the workplace.”
I guess I shall await my invitation to Blue Origin…
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