Model and author Emily Ratajkowski has criticised the Blue Origin launch crew for working with a company that is “single-handedly destroying the planet”. 

On Monday (14 April), the all-female space crew, which included singer Katy Perry, boarded the Blue Origin New Shepard space flight, which belongs to billionaire and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

Also on board were TV presenter Gayle King and Bezos’ fiancé, Lauren Sanchez. Joining them was NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, activist Amanda Nguyen, and film producer Kerianne Flynn.

However, the 10-minute space flight has been criticised for being nothing more than an “out of touch”, “indulgent” joyride by onlookers. Opinion columnist Callie Ahlgrim wrote in Business Insider that the Blue Origin launch is “the latest in a long line of public missteps” for Perry, which started with the release of her single “Woman’s World”. 

“Despite her self-serving motivations, not even Perry seems poised to benefit from this publicity stunt,” Ahlgrim wrote. 

Weighing in on the debate, New York Times Bestselling author Ratajkowski said via TikTok she was “disgusted” by the Blue Origin launch.

“That space mission this morning… You care about Mother Earth, and it’s about Mother Earth, and you’re going up in a spaceship that is built and paid for by a company that is single-handedly destroying the planet. 

“Look at the state of the world and think about how many resources went into putting these women into space,” she urged. “For what? What was the marketing there? I am disgusted.”

Blue Origin spokesperson Alison Gregg told AP News: “Nearly 99% of New Shepard’s dry mass is reused, including the booster, capsule, ring fin, engine, landing gear, and parachutes.

“New Shepard’s BE-3PM engine is fueled by highly efficient and clean liquid oxygen and hydrogen. During flight, the only byproduct of New Shepard’s engine combustion is water vapor with no carbon emissions.”

However, Eloise Marais, an associate professor in physical geography at University College London, told the outlet that the fuel the company uses does “produce other gases (water vapor and nitrogen oxides) that can harm the atmosphere”.

A 2023 report from Oxfam and US researchers found that Bezos’s emissions from his dwellings, transport, yachts and investments equated to almost two million tonnes of CO2 and equivalent greenhouse gas emissions annually, as per The Guardian. 

Deposits for the private Blue Origin flight come with an eye-watering $150,000 price tag, as per the company website. Meanwhile, the final cost per passenger reportedly cost millions, as per Forbes. 

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