Chicks in Space
I have written on several occasions about how I have often wondered what kind of opportunities my mom would have thought awaited me out in the world way back in 1965 (yes, I’m that old). Back then, there were not many avenues for women to succeed. Nurses, teachers, secretaries, and maybe not much more. After all, society’s bosses, mainly men, just figured young women were working while biding their time, waiting for Mr. Right to come along, then they would quit and start having babies. My mom passed away in 2021 when I was just five months away from graduating from college. But she did live long enough to see what amazing opportunities were eventually available for her daughter and other young women of her generation. She was able to witness several firsts for women. The first woman on the Supreme Court and the first women in space.
The first woman in space was actually a Russian Cosmonaut named Valentina Tereshkova in June of 1963. It wasn’t until 1983, aboard the Challenger Space Shuttle, that Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. Thankfully, now, women in space are quite normal. Astronaut Sunni Williams, along with her fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore just spent close to a year in space, thanks to Joe Biden, who left them stranded at the International Space Station. And this week, Blue Origin, an aerospace company, launched a spacecraft with an all-female crew. But hang on a minute, ladies, let’s take a step back and take a real look at this week’s events before you go all “I am woman, hear me roar.”
As you might expect, training to be an actual astronaut first takes years of education. A master’s degree in engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science, or mathematics is a must. Those are fields that take years of intense study—having at least two years of flying experience or around 1,000 hours of pilot-in-command time in a jet aircraft. Most astronauts are military veterans as well. Sunni Williams is a former Naval Aviator, having logged some 3,000 flight hours in over 30 different kinds of aircraft. Williams also has the academic record to match her military and flight records. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Science from the Naval Academy and a Master of Science in Engineering Management degree from the Florida Institute of Technology. It’s a pretty impressive record for anyone, but in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math) that, even in 2025, are predominantly populated by men, it’s pretty badass.
So, who made up the “flight crew” of this latest mission to space? Well, there was noted astrophysicists Katie Perry, “CBS Mornings” host and Oprah bestie Gayle King, former journalist Lauren Sanchez, whose current claim to fame is being Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’s arm candy, and when she is not busy being an “astronaut,” movie producer Kerianne Flynn. The only two on board who even come close to the strenuous qualifications listed above were Aisha Bowe, who is literally a former NASA rocket scientist, and Amanda Nguyen, a bioastronautics scientist.
All in all, this entire spectacle lasted around 11 minutes. But when “splashdown” occurred, really it was just a landing in the desert, and the “crew” emerged from the “spacecraft,” you would have thought they had brought back a cure for cancer. They emerged dressed in tight-fitting suits reminiscent of something out of “Star Trek,” but that wasn’t even the most obnoxious part of it. It was the completely over-the-top kum-bah-yah responses from the likes of Perry and King. Perry sang “What a Wonderful World” while the capsule floated in space and “felt super-connected to love.” King said after she knelt and kissed the ground “I’m so proud of me right now.” She added, “You look down at the planet and you think that’s where we came from? To me it’s such a reminder about how we need to do better, be better.” Perry also kissed the ground.
As a woman, sorry, but this set women in science and space exploration back about 50 years. If you are serious, you are wearing an official and not very glam space suit, not the space version of the women in baseball “Dirt in the Skirt” from “A League of Their Own.” Your first concern is not to “glam up” space and put the “ass” in astronaut, as Perry stated. As if we didn’t know it already, these are not serious women. What this brain trust also fails to get is the fact that because of all the woke nonsense coming from the entertainment industry, most Americans are quite done with celebrities. Celebrities have such a giant air of self-importance as it is that this will definitely not help them with average Americans.
And speaking of average Americans, there is one more thing the girl power team has in common: wealth, and lots of it. Blue Origin would not disclose a total price for the 11-minute ride into space, but a deposit of $150,000 was required. There are probably not many average Americans who have that kind of dough lying around to plunk down on such a trip. They are still recovering from the miserable economy brought to them by the guy all these broads were the head cheerleaders for, Joe Biden
But despite the “space glam” tour, more and more girls are being encouraged to go into STEM fields, and that is a very good thing. Real women who want to become real astronauts don’t have time for makeup and Botox. They are too busy studying to become the trailblazing badasses they are.