Operation Suspicion 🚀 👩‍🎤🤦🏾‍♀️👱🏻‍♀️

Houston, We Have a Vibe Check.

solarpunk dc. Girls trip to Jupiter? IYKYK.

Early Monday, six super-wealthy, hyper-elite women allegedly soared to the edge of space aboard a Blue Origin rocket…

Cue the confetti, cue Katy Perry saying she felt “super connected to life” and “so connected to love” like it’s halftime at the Space Bowl.— 🧢!

What’s even crazier is watching legacy media pump out articles confirming the mission was 100% real—no questions asked—as we watch Jeff Bezos trip up to open an already open door with his special, one-of-one Blue Origin Space Key to welcome the women back to Earth. 👀

But instead of global applause, the internet raised an eyebrow—and then the other one. Conspiracy theories are orbiting faster than that big rocket shaped like Bezos’s 🤐

Did they really go to space? If yes, what was the mission again? We all wanna know…

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At first glance, it should be inspirational…Six women. Launch. History made. Girl power. Etc. Yet… something feels off. It’s that growing disconnect between billionaires staging these celestial stunts and the communities they expect to inspire. Thank goodness for decentralized media giving us room to dissect all the weirdness—unlike the old days when a handful of media giants controlled the narrative and spoon-fed us their version of “truth.” Because let’s be real—these launches don’t feel like exploration. They feel like brand activations.

Bezos, Musk, Branson—they’re out here playing Space Monopoly while communities across the DMV are still waiting on things like basic bus shelters, clean energy infrastructure, and a fair shot at affording an e-bike.

At this point, billionaires are so out of touch, they can’t even fake authenticity convincingly. We’re seeing through it.

The spectacle isn’t working like it used to.
You can put six amazing women in cool-looking suits, hand Katy a beautiful flower—and folks will still be asking if it was filmed in the same studio as the 1998 Destiny’s Child “Say My Name” video.

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This whole space moment brings up a real question:

Do we actually want to go to the moon? Or do we want to make life right here on Earth sustainable, joyful, and abundant?

Because when I look around DC, Maryland, and Virginia, I don’t see folks dreaming of lunar landings. I see people dreaming of:

• Walkable neighborhoods with fruit trees on every block

• Clean energy that doesn’t rely on new fossil fuel plants in Prince William County

• Metro stations that don’t flood every time it rains

• Food justice, housing security, and air that doesn’t smell like diesel

Space travel is cool—don’t get me wrong. Reusable rockets are an astonishing feat. A lot of today’s tech has roots in space exploration.

But maybe solarpunk isn’t about launching ourselves into orbit.
It’s about bringing that same spirit of innovation back down to Earth.

What if, instead of racing to Mars, we raced to build a network of solar-powered microgrids across the DMV?
What if our heroes weren’t astronauts, but the women turning vacant lots into community gardens?

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Here’s where we step back and ask you—especially the women of the DMV:

What does this launch mean to you?
Do you feel seen in this celebration of “space feminism”?
Do you even believe it happened?
And most importantly:
Would you rather float weightlessly for five minutes—or build a future where your neighborhood thrives every day?

Let’s hear from the real experts—the women building better futures right here at home.

Drop your thoughts in the comments, or shoot us a DM if you’ve got a hot take. We’re listening.

Stay punk
— 🤘🏾lavala x Shi