Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy set the record straight on the so-called “astronaut crew” that took an 11-minute tourist joy ride into space this week.
Earlier this week, plastic surgery-obsessed ‘celebrities’ and celebrity hangers-on, such as Gayle King, Lauren Sanchez, and Katy Perry, took a leisurely flight into space.
The female space tourists named themselves “The Six Taking Up Space.” The women rang a bell before boarding the capsule because “all astronauts throughout history in various programs have their traditions.”
This is a huge insult to actual astronauts.
WATCH:
REPLAY: A New Shepard tradition pic.twitter.com/dSexRmoZl7
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 14, 2025
The capsule blasted into space.
NS-31 liftoff! pic.twitter.com/NOfQebatsC
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 14, 2025
The space tourist flight by Blue Origin lasted 11 minutes.
Katy Perry and others were seen floating around the capsule before it returned to Earth.
WATCH:
✨ Weightless and limitless. pic.twitter.com/GQgHd0aw7i
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 14, 2025
The capsule landed in West Texas:
A smooth landing in West Texas.
Book your flight on New Shepard: https://t.co/RP3Lixyr4Y pic.twitter.com/xPiu9LMtlH
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 14, 2025
“We just completed our 11th human spaceflight and the 31st flight of the New Shepard program. The astronaut crew included Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn, and Lauren Sánchez,” Blue Origin said on X.
We just completed our 11th human spaceflight and the 31st flight of the New Shepard program. The astronaut crew included Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn, and Lauren Sánchez.
To date, New Shepard has flown 58 people to space. Read more:… pic.twitter.com/Qglt1p1Wc2
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 14, 2025
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy set the record straight.
These plastic women who ventured into space on an automated flight by Blue Origin are merely passengers – they are not astronauts.
“The U.S. commercial space industry is an inspiring project which showcases American ingenuity and exceptionalism. But the last FAA guidelines under the Commercial Space Astronaut Wings Program were clear: Crewmembers who travel into space must have “demonstrated activities during flight that were essential to public safety, or contributed to human space flight safety,”” Sean Duffy said.
“The crew who flew to space this week on an automated flight by Blue Origin were brave and glam, but you cannot identify as an astronaut. They do not meet the FAA astronaut criteria,” Sean Duffy added.
The U.S. commercial space industry is an inspiring project which showcases American ingenuity and exceptionalism. But the last FAA guidelines under the Commercial Space Astronaut Wings Program were clear: Crewmembers who travel into space must have “demonstrated activities during… https://t.co/n2DxpNh4Hy
— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) April 17, 2025
