2 minute(s) · April 20, 2025
A brief door malfunction during Katy Perry’s Blue Origin spaceflight sparked viral conspiracy theories, though experts explain the incident as consistent with modern spacecraft design and safety protocols.
A peculiar incident involving the door of Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule has fueled conspiracy theories online, with some claiming it's “definitive proof” that Katy Perry’s recent space mission was staged.
After the capsule landed, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos was seen proudly opening the hatch with a special tool to welcome the female crew. However, earlier footage shows the door briefly opening from the inside—seemingly without tools—before being quickly closed. This has led conspiracy theorists to claim the mission was fake, saying, “The girls opened the door from the inside without tools – something that shouldn’t be possible.”
Katy Perry after the mission / Image: dailymail.co.uk
Critics on social media argue that space capsules typically require specialized equipment and technicians to open from the outside, and that passenger-operated hatches are unusual. One user wrote, “The capsule looks like an inflatable tent. This whole thing looks like it could’ve been filmed in a studio.”
Skeptics also questioned how clean and flawless the capsule looked after reentry. “There’s no burn marks on the paint,” one commenter noted. “That’s not what a real space capsule should look like after reentry.”
Despite the uproar, experts say there’s a reasonable explanation. The New Shepard capsule barely crossed the Kármán line—the boundary of space—reaching 107 kilometers (66.5 miles) in altitude. Because of this, it didn’t endure the extreme heat and vacuum conditions experienced by spacecraft like those traveling to the International Space Station.
Modern safety protocols also allow for capsule hatches to open from both the inside and outside. NASA regulations specifically require that hatches be operable from either side by a single crew member within 60 seconds. Since the capsule was depressurized after landing, it’s entirely plausible that the crew inside could open it themselves.
The door may have been shut quickly to preserve a photo-op moment with Bezos. While the mission was real, this misstep has become a “perfect storm” for online conspiracy theorists.
Katy Perry in space / Image: slate.com
Read more about Katy Perry's mission to space here: