Featured Image Credit: Blue Origin
While it might not be quite as elaborate or groundbreaking as the moon landing, conspiracy theories surrounding the recent celebrity Blue Origin flight have caught the attention of many, pointing in particular to one bizarre detail in Katy Perry's hair.
There's just something about space that people can't seem to grasp, as many of the most popular conspiracy theories that have circulated for decades now surrounding the actions and concepts beyond the ground we live on.
Many have called into doubt the veracity of the 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing, to the point where even SpaceX employees question it to this day, and there remains still a shocking number of people across the world that believe that the Earth is flat despite concrete evidence presented by scientists.
However, seemingly the latest target is the recent Jeff Bezos-powered Blue Origin flight that saw celebrities like Katy Perry, Gayle King, and more journey into 'space' for a short period of time.
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While this might seem both innocuous and inconsequential, many have latched on to the theory that the whole thing was faked - and have a couple of bizarre 'details' in their arsenal to prove exactly that.
As reported by the Daily Mail, the most popular 'proof' that the Blue Origin flight was faked involved the aforementioned pop star Katy Perry's hair.
Many claim that the status of her hair - including its 'lack' of movement - prove that they never actually went into space in the first place.
These complaints are also seemingly backed up by comparing Perry's hair to that of recently stranded astronaut Suni Williams, who became known for her wild hair, so much so that President Trump even commented on it.
"Watch their hair. Then look at Sumi's [sic] while in space," writes on user on X, seemingly 'proving' their claims. "This is all fake."
While it is true that neither Perry's nor any of the other attendees of the Blue Origin NS-31 flight had hair as wild as Williams, it's clear to see that it is still lifted by the reduction of gravity, and the short length of the flight won't have allowed for their hair to reach any further state.
Additionally, alongside questions that wonder why none of the attendees tied their hair up to prevent the effects of gravity, the highly publicized nature of this flight and the fact that they're all celebrities should lead anyone to assume that they simply all wanted to look their best - and that probably involved a bit of hair spray to keep everything in place too!
There are a number of other details that also 'prove' the whole thing was supposedly a hoax, including claims of a 'CGI hand', miscommunications surrounding the opening of the door - which involved Bezos tripping and falling on the ground - and a lack of burn marks on the outside of the ship as it landed.
Regarding the latter, one user on Reddit has added their own explanation as to why this isn't a cause for concern: "Scorch marks are usually caused by spacecraft burning off speed using Earth's atmosphere. The mission didn't need to do that, it wasn't even orbital. The people calling it fake probably don't realize there have already been 10+ crewed New Shepard missions."
They're right that the NS-31 crew barely actually went into space, only briefly passing what's known as the 'Kármán line', so scorch marks would have been impossible.
Additionally, another commenter has weighed in with their own assessment of how 'fake' the whole situation is:
"There is a concept called 'corporate passion' and it's when a bunch of money gets thrown at something to try and capture the magic that arises from genuine human passion. The Blue Origin video feels fake because every single thing about it is, except for the physical act of them briefly going to space.
"That was the work of a bunch of engineers, but none of those real people were featured. Won't find the depth or insight of Sagan or Feynman here. Just some shallow rich morons playing making believe as a PR stunt."
This viewpoint certainly lines up with many others who have critisized the flight as both a waste of money and a strain on the environment, but for both things to be true, they have to have actually made the journey and not faked the whole thing.
