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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Science

Katy Perry’s blast-off was a waste of space

Katy Perry after the Blue Origin mission  on 14 April 2025
US singer Katy Perry was one of the six female passengers on the Blue Origin space mission. Photograph: Blue Origin Handout/EPA

Lauren Sánchez, Katy Perry and their companions were no more “crew” of the Blue Origin than my family and I were crew of the British Airways flight from Marrakech to Gatwick on Sunday as we returned from holiday (Blue Origin crew including Katy Perry safely returns to Earth after space flight, 14 April). We were all, in fact, passengers.
Dan Stacey
London

• It doesn’t bother me if Jeff Bezos wants to give his wife-to-be a hen party in space, but what does bother me is the environmental damage caused by this vanity project. It shows selfishness and irresponsibility on a colossal scale.
Chris Burr
Stoford, Somerset

A new trend for the mega-fortunate: ladies who launch.
Toby Wood
Peterborough

• Ditching boarding passes and having travel details on your phone is all very well if you have one – I don’t (Boarding passes and check-in could be scrapped in air travel shake-up, 11 April). I prefer the reassurance of human contact, especially at the gate, to avoid getting on the wrong plane. Everyone does not have a modern phone, John Cooper Clarke being one example – an international star and traveller.
Max Tannahill
Wivenhoe, Essex

• I was in a hospital ward having immunotherapy, along with other patients who were also having immunotherapy and chemotherapy. Suddenly voices were heard from a patient’s mobile phone (Letters, 13 April). It took a few moments to realise she was broadcasting the assisted dying debate in the House of Commons.
Kate Burgess
Boston, Lincolnshire

• Do you have a photograph you’d like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers’ best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays.

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