COSMIC CONSPIRACY: Katy Perry’s “Fake” Space Journey

It didn’t stop with William Shatner; celebrity culture has collided again with space exploration, birthing bizarre theories that spread like wildfire across the digital wasteland.

The #GLAMSTRONAUTS! (L-R) Kerianne Flynn, Katy Perry, Lauren Sanchez, Aisha Bowe, Gayle King and Amanda Nguyen in front of Blue Origin’s New Shepard NS-31 capsule. | Photo: EPA

On April 15, 2025, pop music artist Katy Perry ventured to the “edge of space,” joining five other women on Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission. The capsule reached an altitude of 66.5 miles before returning to Earth after a brief 11-minute journey — with only three minutes spent in actual space. Baaaaaarely space, by the way. They soared to the edge of what is known as the Karman Line, which is the very first thin layer immediately above our normal atmosphere. It’s technically “space” – but akin to watching all of the Star Wars films and buying a plastic sword and then claiming you are an honest-to-goodness Jedi.

So thankful to be back on terra firma after a grueling three minutes in space. | Photo: EPA

Almost immediately after touchdown, social media erupted with claims that the entire mission was fabricated. We won’t touch on the ludicrous interviews and bizarre comments made by Katy Perry upon landing, or how she “kissed the ground and she liked it.” That deserves its own snarky blog post, and so many have already covered that better than I ever could, so I don’t think I really need to put my two cents in about it.

Upon landing after the whopping eleven-minute “flight” (more like a rising and then falling), skeptics branded the launch a “Hollywood fake” featuring “the worst CGI any of these fake space agencies has produced.” Some even went so far as to suggest the mission was actually a “satanic ritual” orchestrated by Perry and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Dr. Daniel Jolley, who studies conspiracy psychology at the University of Nottingham, explained the phenomenon: “This mission brings together two domains that have long been fertile ground for conspiracy theories: space exploration and celebrity culture.”

But what “evidence” do these cosmic skeptics offer? Let’s descend into it…

THE SUSPICIOUS DOOR INCIDENT

After Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule touched down, cameras captured a strange sequence: the capsule door appeared to open from the inside before being hastily shut again. Minutes later, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos approached with a specialized tool and dramatically opened the hatch as if for the first time.

“Wait, wait… we have to let Jeff pretend to rescue you!” | Photo: Blue Origin

For many already suspicious viewers, this apparent staging was damning. “It was fake,” claimed one online commenter. “The girls opened the door to begin with from the inside with no tools. They then waited a few minutes, and Jeff Bezos stepped up with some sort of tool and acted like he unlocked the latch.” But then, he’s a billionaire and could finance hundreds of trips through Blue Origin, so you let him look and feel important to schmooze him as much as you can.

Conspiracy theorists pointed out that typical spacecraft have outward-opening doors requiring a team of technicians to unlock — like the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that recently returned NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. By comparison, the seemingly flimsy, easily-operated New Shepard door struck many as suspicious, Yours Truly included.

THE PRISTINE CAPSULE PARADOX

They promised to wash and wax that thing while at the Karman Line and return it with a full tank of gas.

While we’re on the subject of the capsule… sharp-eyed conspiracy theorists quickly pointed out something peculiar about the New Shepard capsule after its alleged journey beyond our atmosphere — its suspiciously pristine condition. Where were the scorched edges and burn marks that should accompany a vessel that pierced the fiery boundary between our world and the cold void beyond?

“Notice how clean the capsule is?” questioned one online skeptic. “No burn marks, no evidence of reentry heating. Any object breaking through the atmosphere at those speeds should show signs of thermal stress.”

Others compared the Blue Origin capsule to NASA spacecraft returning from orbit, which typically display distinctive charring patterns. “Real spacecraft look like they’ve been through hell and back,” wrote another commenter. “This looks like it just rolled out of a Hollywood prop department.”

The explanation, according to Blue Origin’s defenders, lies in the suborbital nature of the flight. Unlike vehicles returning from orbit at much faster speeds from greater heights, the New Shepard capsule doesn’t achieve the velocities that cause the extreme heating associated with atmospheric reentry. Its more modest speed and trajectory create less friction and therefore less heat. This is due, as mentioned previously, to the capsule only barely reaching the Karman Line – the very edge of space, which is about 62 miles high, whereas NASA spacecraft travel up to 1,200 miles high – and that’s for a low altitude Geostationary orbit, used by satellites, the International Space Station, and the Space Shuttle missions before they were discontinued. Above that you have Beyond Earth Orbit, which would be our reaching for the moon and anything further out than that. So a mere 66 miles high for the Blue Origin trip isn’t all that impressive.

The lack of burn marks is just one more piece for skeptics to salivate over.

THE CASE OF THE MANNEQUIN HAND

This passenger was made up of almost as much plastic as the New Shepard crew.

Eagle-eyed internet sleuths claimed to have spotted what appeared to be a fake hand inside the capsule — supposedly definitive proof of fakery.

“Why is there a dummy hand on the Blue Origin?” questioned one user. “That sure looks like a mannequin’s shiny hand,” added another. A third chimed in: “Hey! That looks like a Barbie hand or is it Ken’s?”

As obvious as the evidence is for this one, there is an explanation. This evidence isn’t really evidence of the New Shepard capsule that Katy-and-Friends were in. The viral image was actually from a 2017 test flight of New Shepard Crew Capsule 2.0, which did indeed carry a mannequin nicknamed “Mannequin Skywalker.” Even a cursory comparison reveals different lettering colors and cabin configurations between the two flights.

THE MYSTERY OF THE NON-FLOATING HAIR

Another focal point for skeptics was Katy Perry’s hair, which didn’t float as expected in microgravity. Conspiracy theorists compared her appearance to NASA astronaut Suni Williams, whose hair famously stood on end during her extended stay on the International Space Station — a look so distinctive that President Donald Trump once referred to her as “the woman with the wild hair.” (Like he’s one to talk.)

“Watch their hair. Then look at Sumi’s [sic] while in space. This is all fake,” wrote one commenter. Another added: “I have long hair… And when I’m underwater my hair just flows and sways and goes with the motions in the water… You see none of that in these fake space photos.”

This is what a REAL astronaut looks like.

Of course, this ignores the rather obvious explanation that Perry and her crewmates (I refuse to call them astronauts, which is why I’ve coined the term “Glamstronauts” – feel free to hashtag that and spam the web with it) had their hair professionally styled before their brief journey so they could look good on camera both in and out of the capsule, before and after landing. In other words, gallons of hairspray. In comparison, Suni Williams spent almost nine months on the ISS without access even to a shower. They had only planned to be up there about a week. You try looking good after not bathing for the length of a typical pregnancy and see how you fare in the mirror.

THE ALLEGED SATANIC SYMBOLISM

Perhaps most bizarre were claims about the mission patch worn by the crew. When turned upside down, some claimed the design resembled Baphomet — a goat-headed figure associated with the Church of Satan and occult traditions. One person, via social media, posted, “Did you notice the logo on Katy Perry and her fellow Blue Origin Space travelers’ patch is the satanic goat with an upside-down cross if you flip it over?”

Another declared, “Goat horns. Celebs. Fake space.” Some even cited Biblical verses, with one writing: “Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”

In reality, Blue Origin’s patch design featured specific symbols representing each crew member: a firework for Perry (referencing her hit song), Flynn the Fly (the main character from Sánchez’s book), a film reel for filmmaker Flynn, a microphone for CBS host King, scales of justice for activist Nguyen, and a star for Bowe’s passion for science. Personally, I don’t see the upside-down cross at all. And I think the upside down patch looks more like a Texas Longhorn than a goat – which would make sense, since this whole trip is full of bull.

Crow from MST3K – tell me you don’t see the resemblance.

No… wait… it kinda looks like Crow from Mystery Science Theater 3,000! So… I guess it IS a sign of evil!

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL UNDERPINNINGS

As Dr. Jolley explained, the combination of celebrity culture and space exploration creates fertile ground for conspiracy theories. Both domains have long histories of attracting skepticism and alternative explanations.

Of course, we’re all about conspiracy theories and alternative explanations here at Weird Darkness. If this whole thing truly was fake, it’s the worst fake ever. We’ve had supposed evidence of Bigfoot as an interdimensional being, and living extraterrestrials imprisoned at Area-51. Heck, we even have the conspiracy theory that Stanley Kubrick faked the moon landing in 1969 (and eluded to his doing so in his movie, “The Shining”) – and those special effects were a heckuva lot better than what we were presented with in this atrocity.

Personally, I believe that, yes, they did go up and come back down for a total of eleven minutes. But they’re not astronauts – being weightless for a whopping three minutes and playing with a floating flower while taking selfies with your gal pals doesn’t really qualify you to take on the monicker of “astronaut.” Aside from the two scientists who were on board, all these GLAMstronauts experienced was the coolest carnival ride ever constructed.