Kellie Gerardi inspires girls to go to space through friendship bracelets and sparkle

Yahoo

27-02-2025

Kellie Gerardi is one of USA TODAY's Women of the Year, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country. Meet this year's honorees at womenoftheyear.usatoday.com.
JUPITER, FLA. − When Kellie Gerardi glanced down at earth from space for the first time a year ago, her jaw dropped.
It was a moment she couldn't have prepared for. One thought ran through her mind – that she was no longer on the same planet as her daughter.
'To look down at our home planet with my own eyes was extraordinary and emotional,' says 36-year-old Gerardi, the 90th woman to visit space. 'There were not a lot of people I could look to from a mother's perspective to ask, 'What does that feel like?' '
She whispered, "Hi, Delta," at the window and pictured her 7-year-old daughter Delta Victoria – named after the Delta-V symbol used in spaceflight dynamics – waving back.
A clip of Gerardi looking out of the spacecraft's window went viral after she posted it on Instagram. More than one million people follow her account today. She wants to show them all that women can love science and still be sparkly, that STEM and femininity can exist together, and to inspire more girls to learn about space.
'If you were to ask me to close my eyes and picture an astronaut, I'm not picturing someone who looks like me, and I've been (to space),' Gerardi said. 'But if you ask my daughter to draw an astronaut, she's drawing a girl. It's shown me how important representation is.'
Gerardi is preparing to launch into space for the second time in 2026.
Gerardi has dreamt of space her entire life. The Jupiter, Florida, native grew up not far from the Space Coast, which made her obsessed with the final frontier.
Today, she considers herself a citizen scientist. She studied bioastronautics and wants to understand how space's environment affects the human body. She is also excited about the potential for the commercial spaceflight industry, which could open space to creatives and scientists alike.
Her first rocket flight into space was in November 2023 on a research mission with space tourism company Virgin Galactic. Her upcoming mission is also led by Virgin Galactic and will expand on the past flight's research, which looked at how liquid behaves in space.
On her first trip, she didn't get nauseous and the only pain she felt was cheek soreness because she smiled so much.
Gerardi was the first female payload specialist to go to space with Virgin Galactic. Two bioastronautics researchers will join her on her next trip, Shawna Pandya from Canada and Norah Patten from Ireland.
'It wasn't designed to be an all-female team,' Gerardi said. 'It just so happened that the women in this crew are so exceptional, credible and amazing.'
Gerardi credits her mom, Marion Gerardi, with supporting her dream. Last year, Marion threw her a 'career shower' – a party with the same vibe as a baby shower, but celebrating work – when she learned of her second flight.
'I had a wonderful bridal shower and baby shower, but to be able to celebrate the other important moments in life and to really bring our multitudes into the fold is really powerful,' Gerardi said.
Gerardi is committed to being her true self.
She wore a full face of makeup and stacked her wrist with friendship bracelets – like the ones traded at Taylor Swift concerts – on her first spaceflight. She likened it to her wedding day. It was the highest point in her career up until then, so she wanted to look and feel her best.
'I was unwilling to tone down my femininity or my personality to fit into someone else's perception of what a professional looks like,' Gerardi said. "I wanted to force that picture to expand to include me. That is the aperture I want to keep expanding for the next generation.'
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She later broke apart the bracelets and made more with at least one bead that went to space. She gave them to other Swifties at the Taylor Swift concert in Miami in October.
Gerardi encourages others to shoot for the stars. She often gets messages from women inspired by her to go back to school or apply for their dream jobs. She also shares her journey with in vitro fertilization online to help others suffering from infertility not to feel as alone.
Still, she gets plenty of criticism. Hate comments don't affect her, though, because she is confident in her identity.
'I don't have a spare thought for any of the folks who have underestimated me or had negative things to say,' Gerardi said. 'When you're doing something that makes your soul click, you just don't have space for dealing with any of the noise.'
When Gerardi isn't training for space, she designs space-themed dresses, makes DIY home decor, writes children's books – she has penned the 'Luna Muna' series – and listens to her favorite Taylor Swift song, 'Florida!!!'
Gerardi has also curated space decor throughout her house. A mosaic of planets and stars covers the dining room wall, a moon-shaped lamp lights up the living room beneath a pop-art poster of her in a spacesuit, and rocket figurines sprinkle the countertops.
She wants to show to her daughter that she doesn't have to choose just one interest.
'Everyone asks if my daughter wants to be an astronaut or if I think she'll follow in my footsteps,' Gerardi said. 'The honest answer is that I have no expectations or desires about her future, except that she feels free to pursue the furthest boundaries of her potential in the same way that I have. . . This mindset that tells you that not even the sky is the limit.'
Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Kellie Gerardi is one of only 100 female astronauts