Our understanding of the moon and the solar system is majorly attributable to Apollo 11, the space launch of 1969. And our understanding of how uncaring, unsustainable, and monetarily absorbed celebrities and corporations are can be amounted to the Blue Origin, otherwise known as one of the most useless “explorations,” if that title is even applicable.
You may be asking: why is that? Well, although the launch was considerably popular and took the media by storm due to the famous pop culture passengers, such as Katy Perry and Lauren Sanchez, it led to backlash online and even negative commentary from comedians and other celebrities. A prominent example being actress Olivia Munn labeling it as gluttonous.
She’s right on the nose with such a remark. This launch was nothing short of mass and overconsumption. The cost of this launch was $341,000,000, and the seats to be a passenger cost approximately $30,000,000. To put into perspective how much that is, consider this: there are 771,480 people who were recorded in 2024 to be experiencing homelessness. That would be about $442 per each of those people, or $27,323 per homeless shelter within the states. That is more than enough to cover for food and clothing, maybe even for homeless infrastructure. There’s an evident disparity between those paying for these flights, and those suffering the repercussions of it. This disparity is inadvertently lessening the quality of life in America, all for seven minutes in the atmosphere.
It’s inarguable that the short-lived experience contributed to carbon emissions, a continuous issue that has been exponentially growing with deleterious effects on human health and the environment. According to Curious Earth, the water vapor released can increase global warming, as well as partially depletes the ozone layer.
While the media has called out its physical impacts, there’s been controversy upon its social implications. The launch was branded for feminism, hence the crew being all women. And yet, many people are unable to find feminism and women empowerment in it. No actual knowledge was gained, and that’s the issue many people find with it. The passengers were glorified in this expedition, and even fans of these celebrities have commented that it takes away from the feminist movement. Feminism, by definition, is the advocacy of women’s rights, and lies within making a systemic change. Feminist leaders, such as The Suffragettes of the 1920’s, to this day are not nationally recognized and well known as opposed to the passengers of Blue Origin. This absolutely undermines the definition and significance of feminism, and the relentless fight those women endured.
This space launch is only one of many as well, as these are reportedly soon to become a commercial experience. It’s crucial as a society that we do not glorify these celebrities and corporations, as we grant them the attention and thus the funds to continue damaging our physical and social environment. Upon this, it’s important we educate ourselves, such as learning about actual feminist movements, and practice methods of sustainability and preservation.
