Blue Origin made history with its all-female crewed space flight mission on Monday and, as with most high-profile events these days, the internet was quick to flood the scene with conspiracy theories.
The NS-31 mission was launched from Blue Origin's Launch Site One, approximately 30 miles north of Van Horn, Texas, at 2.30pm BST (8.30am local time).
Pop singer Katy Perry, former Nasa rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, film producer Kerianne Flynn, activist Amanda Nguyen, Jeff Bezos' fiancé Lauren Sánchez, and CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King were among those on board.
• Read more: Katy Perry breaks her silence after celeb backlash to her 'disgusting' space trip
Following take-off, the crew capsule was transported by the New Shepard rocket barely above the Karman Line, a boundary used to describe the edge of space.
Just 11 minutes after lift-off, the spacecraft returned to Earth following a brief period of weightlessness and made a safe landing.
The event immediately found itself in the middle of many conspiracy theories. Here’s a full breakdown on each conspiracy theory and whether they have been debunked.
Blue Origin space flight fake conspiracies
People started sharing their scepticism on X shortly after the New Shepard spacecraft from Blue Origin's rocket touched down.
Numerous people have asserted that the launch was "100%" fake, and new posts have continued to come in.
The blue origin all girl space flight was 100% fake.
— A. Whitewolfe (@Whitew0lfe777) April 16, 2025
This is what re entry does to anything that goes into space.
Also, they don’t land some exact place, in the desert, with a bunch of people waiting https://t.co/zaqCnLlyhN
One instance that went viral on the internet was when Mr Bezos opened the hatch to release the six passengers after the capsule touched down. The hatch door appears to have been opened from within, then closed again, before Mr Bezos opened it, according to a video of the incident.
Online critics have been saying it shouldn't have been possible for the door to open from the inside.
Busted. Some dumb bunny inside started opening the hatch door! Hatch supposedly opens from the outside. https://t.co/bfK2hKe17r
— Lisa Marie (@Goldilocksrox) April 16, 2025
It was fake pic.twitter.com/6Hlshw3Tu6
— Melonie Mac ✝️🎮🖤 (@MelonieMac) April 15, 2025
Blue horizon was fake! After they landed they opened hatch door from INSIDE!🤣🤣🤣 bezos told no, no, then he faked opened from outside!!
— Baja rancher🇮🇹🇮🇹🇮🇹 (@danakir93284078) April 16, 2025
However, several online users thought the hatch wasn't the only suspicious item. American rapper Azealia Banks had doubts about the mission's overall duration. She tweeted in a now hidden post: “I don’t think they even went to space that shit was fake af. How they back already it’s been like 40 mins.”
The capsule also appeared nearly flawless and undamaged upon landing, which puzzled a lot of people.
The trip was faked. Aside from the faked door opening by Overlord Bezos, the paint on the capsule isn't even slightly scorched from reentry. pic.twitter.com/9prHPjVa0r
— Joe Magil 🇷🇺 (@MagilJoe) April 15, 2025
However, a more extreme kind of conspiracy theory involves well-known celebrities like Perry and billionaire Mr Bezos.
Numerous X commenters thought the mission was a component of a complex occult or demonic ritual orchestrated by Perry.
katy perry is literally a devil worshipping psyop and this stunt they just pulled is even faker than the moon landing
— barney (@barneyxbt) April 14, 2025
Katie Perry talked a lot about herself in relation to her space journey.
— Cryptid Politics 🇺🇸🐊 (@CryptidPolitics) April 14, 2025
Not once did she mention God who created it all.
This “divine feminine” garbage is straight from Satan.
pic.twitter.com/cbJwB9mzjh
Conspiracy theorists specifically targeted the mission patch that each member of the New Shepard Crew wore. On a starry background, this patch depicts a rocket soaring past women's faces, with some social media users saying it conveys a demonic message featuring Baphomet when flipped.
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?
— Politically Stripped ™️ (@politstrip) April 15, 2025
Guess who owns Blue Origin? pic.twitter.com/Z38y0Md4oh
🚨 An interesting Logo on Katy Perry's Spacesuit
— T R U T H P O L E (@Truthpolex) April 15, 2025
They think that they are slick with it 🤡#Ufotwitter #KatyPerry pic.twitter.com/a1SmqfWLYL
Why the conspiracy theories are incorrect
Blue Origin mission was fake
There is absolutely no proof that the Blue Origin flight was fake, as the entire event was broadcast live to millions of viewers.
Hatch doors
Nasa states that a single crew member should be able to operate hatch doors from both sides without the need for any tools.
It has been common practice for capsules to be openable from both sides since the Apollo 1 accident, in which a capsule caught fire on the launch pad.
Indeed, "doors shall be operable by a single crew member in no more than 60 seconds, from both sides of the hatch”, according to Nasa’s safety regulations.
According to the Daily Mail, it also makes perfect sense to believe that someone inside opened the door earlier than planned then shut it as it would have wrecked a Bezos photo opportunity.
Clean after landing and duration
The New Shepard capsule only just made it into space, which may explain why the capsule appeared clean on landing and the whole flight lasted a short time.
The crew capsule just crossed the Karman Line, the recognised frontier of space, when it reached a maximum altitude of 66.5 miles (107 km).
Unlike the crafts traveling to the International Space Station, the capsule was not exposed to the actual vacuum of space at this height because it was still in a very thin atmosphere.
As a result, unlike the Crew Dragon, New Shepard does not require highly reinforced outward-opening doors.
Additionally, the capsule's return from Earth doesn't produce the heat of a normal re-entry burn that would blister the exterior because it barely exited the atmosphere.
Mission patch
The idea that the patch was made to resemble Baphomet is unsupported by any evidence.
In fact, Blue Origin has provided information regarding every symbol on the patch.
Perry's “global influence across music, pop culture, and philanthropy” was symbolised by the firework. It also references her popular song.
A film clip for filmmaker Flynn is positioned on the other side, while the protagonist of Sánchez's book, Flynn the Fly, is positioned in the upper-left corner.
