In Space, No One Can Hear You Girlboss

Pitchfork ^ | 4/14/2025 | Vrinda Jagota

[scouter]

At 9:31 a.m. EDT yesterday, Katy Perry, in full hair and makeup wearing a designer cobalt blue bodysuit, was ready to make history. As she boarded flight NS-31 to make an 11-minute roundtrip journey to the edge of outer space, she endeavored to “put the ass in astronaut.” Which is so cool and brave to admit, given that she’s probably the first person ever to say those words in that particular order.

[pingman]

It was the 2025 version of “Spam in a can”.

[rktman]

Jeff’s money so he can waste it however he wants. Just don’t want to hear about it but here we are🚀.

[mikey_hates_everything]

Yep, they could ride on a roller coaster and call themselves “astronauts”. Idiots.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

We’re going to need a bigger spaceship!

[jroehl]

The phrase “put the ass in astronaut” is often attributed to comedian Lewis Black. He used it during his stand-up comedy routines to humorously criticize the idea of space exploration and to poke fun at the absurdity of space missions. The phrase plays on the word “astronaut” by emphasizing the “ass” part, humorously making light of the serious and complicated nature of space travel.

While it is a memorable line from Black’s performances, it may not be the earliest usage, but it is widely associated with his comedic style.

[DannyTN]

She put the naut (a nut) in astronaut too.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

June Lockhart rocked space FIRST and better than this current gaggle. ;)

But...maybe it was faked? I was just a kid. *SMIRK*

[Deaf Smith]

>>>was faked

Looked like something from a episode of Gilligan’s Island.

[ConservativeMind]

She is still with us!

99 years young.

[Salman]

A publicity stunt featuring celebrities, by a private company.

It's not big deal science or a feminist triumph or anything important, but it's OK showbiz.

I have no problem with it.

Best of luck to Jeff Bezos promoting space tourism.

[Alberta's Child]

I don't think the trip was faked, but they're lying about some of the details.

The paint on the capsule isn't even slightly scorched from re-entry because there was no "re-entry."

These people were never in "outer space" They basically took a flight to a very high altitude in a passenger pod and floated back down to earth with a parachute.

[Justa]

It’s a very expensive carnival ride. Best suited for Six Flags, etc.

[Magnum44]

[central_va]

The rocket went straight up and straight down. It was never in orbit at all. A big bottle rocket.

[central_va]

We need the “John Holmes” version of the ship.

[TexasGator]

Almost straight up and down.

[central_va]

The scorch comes from slowing down from 18,000 mph. That thing was a big bottle rocket, straight up and straight down. Not much friction.

[central_va]

How far from launch? a few miles?

[The Louiswu]

Blue Origin only performs suborbital flights, reaching a maximum altitude of around 66.5 miles (107 km), which is just above the Kármán line, the official boundary of space. At this altitude, the capsule is still within a very thin atmosphere and isn't exposed to the true vacuum of space like craft traveling to the International Space Station are.

The scorching comes from reentry vehicles (Like Space X) that are above the Kármán Line and traveling at or above 17,500mph and need to slow to just a few mph before they splash down.

The heat of reentry comes from the capsule having to push air molecules out of the way as it enters the atmosphere.

[Alberta's Child]

Exactly.