While The Lifetimes Tour is currently in progress, the public is still divided over one aspect of Katy Perry’s space journey because they are unsure about one aspect.
Fans of Katy Perry have been divided on whether or not she should become an astronaut after her spaceflight. Listeners of the pop star are still trying to determine whether her brief spaceflight places her among Neil Armstrong and Yuri Gagarin, with The Lifetimes Tour set to debut in the UK today (4 October).
Members of the public have vehemently disputed whether it does or not, with some claiming Perry is more of an “astropassenger” than an “astronaut”. In a furious post on the Reddit page for Spaceflight, passionate users debated whether or not Perry should be an astronaut.
Famous faces like Star Trek actor William Shatner and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos have also been to space in recent years. A post to the r/Spaceflight Reddit page reads: “Katy Perry is not an astronaut, she is an astropassenger.
She recently joined an all-female crew of three on an autonomous Blue Origin rocket that flew into space.
“These kinds of flights, which are frequently referred to as space tourism, involve passengers who are not members of the professional operating crew or who are primarily focused on conducting scientific research.
“Astronauts are typically defined as those who have undergone extensive training and are a part of a space agency’s program, frequently engaged in spacecraft piloting, conducting scientific experiments, or carrying out other mission-critical tasks,” although the term is sometimes used more broadly.
According to Taylor, “Astropassenger” is a more appropriate description of a suborbital flight that focused on experiencing weightlessness and looking at the Earth from space.
Others think Perry and the crew’s brief orbiting of this planet is better described as a “space tourist.”
Another suggested that those whose missions to space are for professional purposes should be exempt from the term “astronaut.”
They argued that calling famous people or wealthy people like Katy Perry “astronauts” after a brief suborbital flight with Blue Origin disrespects the dedication, risk, and professionalism of those who have endured years, if not decades, of rigorous training, education, and sacrifice.
Anything that draws attention to the space domain is fantastic, I don’t want to sound like I’m against Blue Origin flights in any way.
Let’s just refer to them as thrill rides, “let’s call them that.” Which is great, but being a rollercoaster doesn’t make you a better fighter pilot.
However, some people think Perry must be an astronaut by definition. Anyone who travels to space, according to them. The first astronauts were deserving of respect because it used to be difficult, and only those who worked hard and were dedicated could do it.
It’s now simple. Being an astronaut doesn’t mean you’re deserving of anything. That is acceptable. The entire purpose of the space program is in this.
