Last week, pop star Katy Perry and five other women made history by becoming the first all-female crew to travel to space since 1963. The 11-minute Blue Origin mission was supposed to be a groundbreaking moment for women in space exploration. But within hours of their return to Earth, something strange happened online. Social media exploded with claims that the entire mission was fake — a Hollywood production that never actually left the ground. From “suspicious” hatch openings to claims of water tanks instead of zero gravity, these theories are spreading fast. But what’s really going on with this space conspiracy?
The hatch controversy that launched a thousand theories
It all started with a door. Shortly after the Blue Origin capsule landed in West Texas, cameras caught what appeared to be the hatch opening from the inside before quickly closing again. Minutes later, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos approached with a wrench-like tool and dramatically opened the door from the outside. This sequence of events immediately raised red flags for online skeptics, who claimed it proved the mission was staged. According to these theories, safety protocols would make it impossible for astronauts to open the hatch from inside due to pressure differences, so the premature opening must have been a mistake that revealed the hoax.
The truth is much less exciting. Spacecraft hatches are actually designed to open from both inside and outside for safety reasons. If there were an emergency and the crew needed to exit quickly, having a door that could only be opened from the outside would be extremely dangerous. What viewers likely witnessed was simply a timing mishap during what was meant to be a carefully choreographed media moment. The capsule had already safely landed and depressurized, making it completely normal for those inside to be able to open the hatch if needed.
Why does the rocket look too clean to have been in space
Another popular claim making the rounds is that the Blue Origin capsule looked “too clean” after its journey. Some conspiracy theorists pointed out that the white paint on the capsule showed no signs of scorching or damage from the extreme temperatures of re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. They argue that any real spacecraft returning from space would show visible signs of the journey, with blackened or damaged exterior surfaces from the intense heat generated when a spacecraft hits the atmosphere at thousands of miles per hour. The pristine condition of the capsule, they claim, is proof that it never actually left Earth.
This theory overlooks some important facts about the Blue Origin mission. The New Shepard vehicle that carried Perry and her crewmates reached just over the Kármán line – the internationally recognized boundary of space at 62 miles above Earth. At this altitude, the spacecraft experiences what’s known as suborbital flight, which is very different from orbital missions like those to the International Space Station. Suborbital flights don’t reach the speeds needed for orbit, so they don’t experience the same extreme heating during re-entry. The capsule’s heat shield is designed specifically for these conditions, and the short duration of the flight means there’s far less opportunity for visible damage to occur.
The mission was suspiciously short compared to other space trips
Some skeptics have focused on the brevity of the mission – approximately 11 minutes from launch to landing – as evidence of fakery. How could anyone truly go to space and back in such a short time? Traditional space missions like shuttle flights or trips to the International Space Station typically last days or even months, so an 11-minute journey seems implausibly quick to many people. This has led some to conclude that the mission was merely a simulation or, at best, a high-altitude airplane flight designed to mimic space conditions without actually reaching space.
In reality, the short duration is exactly what you’d expect from this type of mission. Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle is specifically designed for suborbital flights, which follow a parabolic trajectory rather than entering orbit around Earth. These flights are meant to reach space briefly, allow passengers to experience a few minutes of weightlessness, and then return to Earth. It’s essentially a very high, very fast up-and-down journey. The entire flight profile, including the short duration, is completely normal for this type of space tourism mission and matches previous Blue Origin flights that carried different passengers.
Did the crew fake weightlessness in water tanks
One of the wilder theories circulating online suggests that the weightlessness experienced by Perry and her crewmates wasn’t real zero gravity but was simulated in underwater tanks. Conspiracy theorists claim that the floating movements shown in the video footage match the kind of buoyancy seen in underwater training facilities used by NASA and other space agencies. They point to supposed hair movements and other details as “proof” that the women were simply swimming in special tanks designed to mimic weightlessness, similar to how filmmakers create space scenes for movies.
This claim ignores the extensive live coverage of the launch, flight, and landing that was broadcast worldwide. The continuous footage shows the rocket taking off from the launch pad in West Texas, ascending to space, and the capsule later returning to Earth with parachutes – all events that would be extremely difficult to fake on a live broadcast. While astronauts do indeed train underwater to prepare for spacewalks (using facilities like NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory), the differences between underwater simulation and actual zero gravity are noticeable to trained observers. The brief weightless experience aboard the New Shepard was the real deal, not an underwater reproduction.
The strange case of the mannequin hand photo
In perhaps the strangest twist in this conspiracy saga, some online sleuths claim to have found a smoking gun – a photo showing what they believe is a mannequin or fake hand inside the Blue Origin capsule. The image, which has been shared thousands of times across social media platforms, appears to show what some are calling an “obviously fake” hand or dummy inside the spacecraft. Conspiracy theorists have seized on this as definitive proof that the mission used props and fake passengers rather than sending actual humans to space.
The truth behind this particular claim reveals how misinformation can spread online. The widely shared photo isn’t from the recent NS-31 mission that carried Katy Perry at all – it’s actually from a 2017 test flight of the New Shepard system that used a test dummy named “Mannequin Skywalker.” Blue Origin used this instrumented dummy on early flights to gather data before sending humans to space. The image being circulated is several years old and has nothing to do with the recent all-female flight, demonstrating how easily old content can be repurposed to support new conspiracy narratives if people don’t check the source and date of what they’re sharing.
Celebrity and billionaire involvement makes perfect conspiracy fodder
Psychologists who study conspiracy theories note that the Blue Origin mission created what one expert called a “perfect storm for conspiratorial thinking.” The combination of space travel (which many people find mysterious), celebrity culture (featuring Katy Perry, who has been the subject of conspiracy theories before), and the involvement of Jeff Bezos (one of the world’s richest men) creates an ideal environment for skepticism and alternative explanations. When these elements come together, they trigger multiple biases that make people more likely to question official narratives, especially when they don’t fully understand the technical aspects of space travel.
Our brains are wired to find patterns and explanations, particularly for events that involve powerful or famous people. The very public nature of this mission, combined with small irregularities like the hatch opening sequence, gives conspiracy-minded individuals plenty of material to work with. Social media platforms then amplify these theories by allowing them to spread quickly, often reaching people before factual explanations can catch up. The result is a snowball effect where initial questions grow into full-blown conspiracy narratives that can be difficult to dislodge once they take hold in the public imagination.
The most bizarre claim: A satanic ritual in space
Taking the conspiracy theories to a truly outlandish level, some online commentators have suggested that the mission wasn’t just faked – it was actually a cover for a “satanic ritual” led by Katy Perry. These theorists point to the mission patch design, which they claim contains occult symbolism, and Perry’s past performances, which have sometimes included theatrical elements that some interpret as having dark undertones. According to this fringe theory, the mission was staged as part of an elaborate ritual intended to have symbolic significance rather than actual space exploration value.
Experts who study conspiracy theories note that claims about celebrities participating in satanic activities are unfortunately common and typically baseless. These types of accusations have been directed at many famous figures throughout history and represent what sociologists call “moral panic” responses to cultural changes or events that some find threatening. The suggestion that Perry, Bezos, or any of the other accomplished women on the crew would participate in such activities is not supported by any credible evidence and reflects more about the anxiety some people feel about women in positions of power, space exploration, and celebrity culture than it does about the actual mission.
While conspiracy theories about Katy Perry’s space journey continue to spread online, the evidence strongly supports that this was indeed a genuine trip to space. The Blue Origin NS-31 mission successfully carried its all-female crew above the Kármán line, making history in the process. The theories that have emerged tell us more about human psychology and our relationship with technology, fame, and uncertainty than they do about what actually happened on April 14, 2025. Sometimes a space mission is just a space mission – even when it includes one of the world’s biggest pop stars.
