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  • Oh god, that's just, so incredibly gross. They put them in suits like they're Deanna Troi in the first few seasons of Star Trek: TNG, it's all just so tokenistic. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/apr/14/blue-origin-rocket-launch

    • Before liftoff, [Gayle] King – who co-hosts CBS Mornings – said she was approaching the rocket trip with trepidation. “I still get very uncomfortable when people say ‘astronaut’,” she said. “I in no means feel like an astronaut. They said: ‘But, Gayle, if you go to space, you’re an astronaut.”

      Stepping on a boat doesn't make you a sailor.

      This wasn't an "all-female mission", but the equivalent of the women-only carriage on a metro. Or more like a limo, actually, because you don't need a billionaire's personal invitation to ride the metro.

      • Astronaut is a job, and it's one of the jobs that's the most difficult to do, and has the lowest acceptance rate in the world. People who are actual astronauts dedicate a career to it. The pay they receive is relatively low for their talent. And, they typically have to do a lot of PR events. It's a grind, but it's rewarding to have one of the most unique jobs in the world.

        Putting on a bandage doesn't make you a doctor. Unclogging a toilet doesn't make you a plumber. And going into space, even into orbit, doesn't make you an astronaut. If you actually get to orbit, I'll give you "space tourist". But, if you're just barely getting above 100 km, you're a "high altitude tourist", nothing more.

        And, as for "mission", a mission has a purpose, and just having fun for a few minutes while you're in the upper atmosphere isn't an actual mission.

      • Yeah, I immediately yelled at my phone about that quote...

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