The Duality of Space
Yesterday, Blue Origin launched its NS-31 mission — an all-women crewed flight that reached the edge of space. A milestone for representation. A moment of visibility. A mission that will inspire beyond the echo chamber of the space sector itself.
And yet, the commentary has been polarising.
This is the duality of the space sector today:
On one side — space is a frontier for science, innovation, and exploration driven by creativity as much as technology, engineering and teamwork. It’s where we search for life beyond Earth, understand climate change from orbit, and engineer technologies that push the boundaries of what’s possible. It’s a collaborative, global effort to understand our place in the cosmos.
On the other side — space tourism often feels like a billionaire’s playground. Dismissed as a gimmick, it can appear elitist and inaccessible, especially when the headlines focus more on celebrity passengers than scientific progress.
But perhaps both realities can exist. And perhaps one feeds the other.
Space tourism, while imperfect, helps normalise space access. It draws in public imagination, funding, and commercial viability, all of which can eventually support deeper missions of meaning and discovery. The flight yesterday drove awareness of the space sector beyond its bubble and the women who were part of the NS-31 crew have worked HARD to get to where they are, no doubt facing many barriers along the way.
The challenge? Making sure that space isn’t just for the wealthy few, but a platform that serves humanity as a whole.
It’s not either/or. It’s both/and.
Let’s keep asking: who gets to go to space, and why does it matter?
The public takedown has been really disappointing to witness, so what if they had a glam squad. Hair and makeup as part of the launch was fantastic to see, I personally, have already hit up designers and talked about my fave coveted brands that I dream about wearing on a trip to space like this. It is a part of my identity and doesn’t make me less of a space professional because I love fashion, makeup and being an individual.
The takedowns are perpetuating elitism and cliqueness of the space sector that I have experienced and I mentioned in my post yesterday, that I STILL have to bat off micro-agressions from women in leadership positions in the space sector. Until we can be open/accessible, non-judgemental and frankly KINDER the space sector will not break out of this bubble.
Nothing is ever black or white — this is certainly driving a conversation in the fuzzy grey space — I welcome it as it has uncovered some truths that we need to be open to discuss.
