Wikipedia

Kellie Gerardi

Kellie Gerardi (born February 16, 1989) is an American social media influencer, popular science communicator, and citizen astronaut who made a sub-orbital spaceflight with Virgin Galactic as a payload specialist in 2023. She has worked at Palantir Technologies since 2015, where she leads logistical operations.

Kellie Gerardi
Kellie Gerardi in a space suit
Gerardi in 2023
Born (1989-02-16) February 16, 1989 (age 35)[1]
Jupiter, Florida[2]
Alma mater
Occupations
EmployerPalantir Technologies
Known forCitizen science
Spouse
Steven Baumruk
​
(m. 2015)​
[3]
Children1
Websitekelliegerardi.com

Gerardi was among the first 100 women in space. She was also a candidate for the Mars One mission. She is scheduled to lead an all-female sub-orbital spaceflight with Virgin Galactic in 2026.

Early life and education

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Gerardi graduated from Jupiter Community High School in 2007, in the town of Jupiter, Florida, where she was born. She said she watched space shuttles launch from Cape Canaveral from her bedroom window.[2][4] She studied documentary film making at Barnard College and transferred to New York University (NYU). She graduated from NYU in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in film.[2][5]

Career

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In 2012, Gerardi joined the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, a commercial spaceflight lobbying group, as a media specialist.[3] She has done work in copywriting and communications.[6] Gerardi also worked in business development at Masten Space Systems.[3]

In 2015, she began working with Palantir Technologies, a Peter Thiel software company, where she said she helped organizations use Gotham, its controversial flagship data analysis software used by law enforcement.[2][3][7] She works in mission operations at the company, a team which does customer service work that Palantir describes as "logistical special forces".[7][3][8]

Citizen science and commercial spaceflight research

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After meeting Richard Garriott at The Explorers Club, where she worked the coat check,[2][7] in 2014, Gerardi decided to join.[3][6] She later served on the board of directors. She is on the Truman National Security Project's Defense Council.[9]

In 2014, Gerardi was accepted as candidate for the Mars One mission, an organization that planned to colonize Mars as a reality television show, which gained her national attention. The organization received harsh criticism from the scientific community and went bankrupt before a mission could be conducted.[7][10][11] In February 2014, she spent two spent two months as a crew member at the Mars Desert Research Station(MDRS), a Mars analog habitat operated by the Mars Society.[3][6] In 2015, she wrote an essay in Popular Mechanics about her experience at the MDRS, which included wearing a space suit.[10][12][13] In an interview with Popular Science, she said they tested the ability to grow hops in a simulated Martian regolith using Earthen soil as a control.[14][15]

 
Kellie Gerardi returning from a successful microgravity research flight at the Canadian National Research Council.

In 2017,[3] Gerardi joined a private international education and research facility called the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS).[16] Gerardi completed a program called "Project PoSSUM", which stands for polar suborbital science in the upper mesosphere,[17] which includes study on topics such as bioastronautics and training in high altitude flights to experience weightlessness.[3][18] Gerardi is IIAS's director of human spaceflight operations.[19]

On November 2, 2023, Gerardi flew the sub-orbital spaceflight operated by the space tourism company Virgin Galactic, Galactic 05, as a payload specialist doing scientific research with Alan Stern, a private passenger also on board.[7][8] The trip lasted around two hours from take off to return.[20][21] Onboard, she collected research data for three experiments focused on the physiology of microgravity developed by the National Research Council of Canada and sponsored by IIAS.[22] Gerardi performed a fluid dynamic test for future designs of syringes and humidifiers specific to spaceflight.[23][24] She wore a smart undergarment that collects biometric data during her flight developed by Canadian startup Hexoskin Astroskin and the Canadian Space Agency.[23][3][22] She also wore a Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM) to passively measure glucose levels to investigate any relation between high-altitude flight and insulin resistance.[2][8] She was the first social media influencer in space and among the first 100 women.[4][17][3]

In June 2024, Virgin Galactic announced Gerardi as a crew member on a second research spaceflight scheduled for as early as 2026 aboard the Company’s Delta Class spaceship. The mission is designed to enable IIAS to introduce new research while also expanding upon the results from the Galactic 05 mission.[19] Gerardi will be leading an all-female, international research space flight crew from IIAS.[25]

Science communication and social media

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Gerardi is a popular science communicator and social media influencer.[8][26] As of March 2024, she had over 764,000 followers on TikTok[27] and over 500,000 followers on Instagram.[2] She has a brand partnership with Sun Chips.[28][20] She began her social media career as a teenager on YouTube filming popular Christmas content of her family, when the site was new.[29] Gerardi “[believes] in the democratization of access to space and the expansion of Earth's economicsphere”.[30]

In 2021 and 2023, she walked in New York Fashion Week shows, wearing her navy space suit[31] and a space-themed dress she designed, respectively.[32] In 2021, Gerardi partnered with NASA to host the first all-female episode of NASA Science Live during Women's History Month.[33]

In 2020, Mango Publishing published her first book, Not Necessarily Rocket Science: A Beginner's Guide To Life in the Space Age.[34][4][35] She has also created children's books about space called Luna Muna.[36]

Personal life

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In 2015, Gerardi's space-themed wedding was officiated by astronaut Michael López-Alegría, a commander of the International Space Station.[37] Gerardi lives in Jupiter, Florida with her husband and their daughter Delta V, who was named for delta-v, the quantitative measure of a change in velocity.[34][2][3]

References

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  1. ^ "Another year, another orbit. 🎂✨ So endlessly thankful for all my friends, family, colleagues, and supporters who continue to make this adventure so exciting and fulfilling. #29 #birthday". Instagram. February 16, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Staggs, Valerie (2024-03-05). "Reaching for the Stars with Kellie Gerardi". Stuart Magazine. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Jr, Tom Huddleston (2021-07-20). "How millennial mom and TikTok influencer Kellie Gerardi became a 'citizen astronaut' who's going to space with Virgin Galactic". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  4. ^ a b c Bender, Maddie (24 August 2020). "Kellie Gerardi might be the first social media star in space". Inverse. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  5. ^ Not Necessarily Rocket Science - with author Kellie Gerardi (Interview recording.), The Museum of Flight, Apr 10, 2021, event occurs at 6:22, retrieved 2024-02-13
  6. ^ a b c Glester, Andrew (2020-12-14). "Aspiring astronaut and Space Age ambassador". Physics World.
  7. ^ a b c d e Lin, Belle. "Meet the 32-year-old Palantir employee and TikTok star who will soon become one of the youngest mothers to ever travel to space". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  8. ^ a b c d Dinner, Josh (2023-10-30). "Meet the crew of Virgin Galactic's 5th commercial spaceflight launching on Nov. 2". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  9. ^ Petersen, Carolyn Collins (2023-11-16). "Virgin Galactic Flies Science Experiments to the Edge of Space". Universe Today. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  10. ^ a b Seedhouse, Erik (2017). Mars One. Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-44497-0. ISBN 978-3-319-44496-3.
  11. ^ Dickerson, Kelly. "The company planning one-way trips to Mars will 'inevitably fall on its face'". Business Insider. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  12. ^ "What I Learned Living Through a Simulated Mars Mission". Popular Mechanics. 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  13. ^ "Signing Up for a Mission to Mars, and Planning to Never Return". ABC News. March 5, 2015. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  14. ^ Stone, Lillian (2021-02-12). "Hypothetically, Astronauts Could Get Tanked On Mars-Brewed Space Beer". The Takeout. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  15. ^ G, Sandra Gutierrez (2021-02-05). "Can we brew our own beer on Mars?". Popular Science. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  16. ^ "Florida Tech students get a taste of space". The Florida Tech Crimson. 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  17. ^ a b "32-year-old researcher, first 'social media influencer' set to go to space, says 'belong to new generation of astronauts'". The Times of India. 2021-06-21. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
  18. ^ Reimuller, Jason (2018-06-01). "Project PoSSUM Graduates Scientist-Astronaut Class 1801 at Embry-Riddle". Project PoSSUM. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
  19. ^ a b Howell, Elizabeth Howell (June 21, 2024). "Virgin Galactic announces international crew for flight on new Delta class space plane". Space.com. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  20. ^ a b "SunChips Blasts Off With Astronaut Kellie Gerardi For Solar Eclipse". Yahoo Entertainment. 2024-03-28. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
  21. ^ Seedhouse, Erik (2024). Commercial Astronauts: The Next Generation of Spacefarers. Switzerland: Springer Nature. ISBN 978-3-031-55606-7.
  22. ^ a b Harwood, William (November 2, 2023). "Virgin Galactic launches fifth commercial flight to sub-orbital space and back". CBS News. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Etherington, Darrell (2021-06-03). "Virgin Galactic to fly Kellie Gerardi to space on a dedicated research mission". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  24. ^ Dinner, Josh (2023-10-30). "Meet the crew of Virgin Galactic's 5th commercial spaceflight launching on Nov. 2". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  25. ^ "Empowering female scientists: Virgin Galactic partners with IIAS for all-female research mission". Financial Express. June 21, 2024. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  26. ^ Sprankles, Julie (July 3, 2024). "Astronaut Mom Kellie Gerardi Wants Girls To Be Comfortable Taking Up Space". Scary Mommy. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  27. ^ "@kelliegerardi". TikTok (Profile). Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  28. ^ "SunChips Debuts an Ecplise-Inspired Bag of Chips with 2 Flavors In It". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  29. ^ Glester, Andrew (December 14, 2020). "Aspiring astronaut and Space Age ambassador". Physics World.
  30. ^ Dinner, Josh (November 1, 2023). "Virgin Galactic astronaut Kellie Gerardi is ready for broader access to space". Space.com. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  31. ^ Gupta, Alisha Haridasani (2021-09-12). "A Fashion Show With an Unexpected Focus: Sexual Assault Survivors". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  32. ^ Smith, Jamie Davis (2024-04-10). "What Astronaut Kellie Gerardi Packs When She Travels—By Airplane or Spaceship". Thrillist. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  33. ^ "NASA Astrobiology". astrobiology.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  34. ^ a b Chelsea Gohd (2021-06-05). "Virgin Galactic to launch science communicator and researcher to space". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  35. ^ "Kellie Gerardi's Exciting Announcement". Mango Publishing. 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  36. ^ Davis Smith, Jamie (2023-11-28). "She's an astronaut and mom who wore friendship bracelets into space. Here's how Kellie Gerardi makes it work". Yahoo Life. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  37. ^ "We Spoke To Astronauts About How Space Tourism Will Change Life Here On Earth". The Suitest. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
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