'Blue Origin Flight Was FAKED!' Wild Moon Landing-Style Conspiracy Theory Erupts Over Historic All-Female Space Flight Over One Gaffe
Jeff Bezos hugs fiancée Lauren Sánchez after Blue Origin's return to earth but sceptics believe how Amazon boss opened capsule door shows mission was 'fake'.
April 16 2025, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
A bizarre gaffe during the Blue Origin space flight has sparked wild conspiracy theories the mission was fake.
RadarOnline.com can reveal skeptics centered on the door of the New Shepard capsule, which landed back on earth on Tuesday with its all-female crew safely inside.
The Blue Origin space crew (L-R): Gayle King, Aisha Bowe, Lauren Sánchez, Amanda Nguyen, Katy Perry and Kerianne Flynn.
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos proudly wrenched open the hatch with a specialized tool to greet the crew, including his fiancée Lauren Sánchez and singer Katy Perry.
However, footage from just minutes earlier clearly shows the capsule door being opened from the inside before being hastily shut.
Conspiracy theorists have seized on this strange moment, hailing it as "definitive proof" the mission was faked.
While there is little doubt that the Blue Origin rocket reached space, it shows just how tightly choreographed the staged event was supposed to be.
The crew celebrate following their safe return to earth.
Taking to X, one skeptical commenter wrote: "I'd say this is the nail in the coffin. FAKE!"
As the claim that the mission was an elaborate hoax goes viral, experts say the Blue Origin launch was a "perfect storm" for conspiracy theories.
Dr. Daniel Jolley, an expert on the psychology of conspiracies from the University of Nottingham in the U.K., said: "Space is vast, complex and largely inaccessible to most people — in this context, it becomes easier for some individuals to question the official narrative."
On X, many commenters who already had their doubts about the launch have seized on this embarrassing door gaffe as a clear sign their theories are correct.
Katy Perry kisses the ground in relieve the mission went to plan.
One commenter wrote: "It was fake. The girls opened the door to begin with from the inside with no tools.
"They then waited a few minutes, and Jeff Bezos stepped up with some sort of tool and acted like he unlocked the latch."
Another commenter chimed in: "Can't post this fake s--- enough. Door opens from the inside, they're told to close it because the door can ONLY be opened by an outside person."
While one commenter wrote: "This s--- is so fake. Watch the door be opened from the inside; then they need a tool to open it from the outside."
Perry shared a video to Instagram on Tuesday, expressing gratitude for the once-in-a-lifetime trip.
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The main reason theorists latched on to this detail was the belief that the pressurized cabin shouldn't have an inward-opening door that could be operated by passengers.
Typical spacecraft have doors that open outwards and require a team of technicians working from the outside to unlock.
For example, anyone who watched the return of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams would have seen a crew of engineers working for minutes to open the hatch of their SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.
The crew capsule hit a maximum altitude of 66.5 miles (107 km), which just put them over the Karman Line, the official boundary of space.
Joining Sánchez and Perry on board were CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King, film producer Kerianne Flynn, activist Amanda Nguyen and former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe.
