06-02-2025
West Virginia woman shares full video of trip to space: How to watch
Video shows a 12 News interview with Emily Calandrelli after her space flight in November 2024.
(WBOY) — The Morgantown, West Virginia native who became the 100th woman to go to space back in November has shared the never-before-seen video of her space flight.
Emily Calandrelli, a West Virginia University and MIT educated engineer known for her education shows like 'Xploration Outer Space' and 'Emily's Wonder Lab,' released the video on Thursday, sharing everything that happened on her flight from Blue Origin's West Texas spaceport.
The 16-minute video, which can be watched on Calandrelli's YouTube page, includes details from her astronaut training, some of the unique things she did the make the flight special for herself, women, kids and West Virginia, and her full reaction of experiencing weightlessness and seeing Earth from space.
A clip of her reaction posted back in November was removed after she watched 'hoards of men sexualize' and 'belittle' her on the internet. Calandrelli promised at that time that she would share the full video in the future.
Stories from three West Virginians who went to space
Calandrelli paid homage to her home state of West Virginia on the flight in several ways. A fundraiser where Calandrelli took a flash drive carrying near 10,000 hopes and dreams of West Virginia children with her to space raised more than $30,000 for West Virginia foster youth. And she said in the video that one of the most special things she was able to take to space with her was her father's West Virginia University college ring.
Ben Calandrelli grew up in poverty in Morgantown, West Virginia and was the first person in his family to go to college. His tearful reaction to her asking to take his class ring to space, which is included in the video, will bring a tear to the eye of any West Virginian with a similar experience.
I think you know how much it means to me for you to be taking my college ring into space. It represents where I came from and all the hard work it took for me to be where I am today. When you board the New Shepard capsule, you won't just be carrying my ring into the stars; you'll also be carrying my dreams, my heart, and my love with you.
Letter to Emily Calandrelli from her father, Ben Calandrelli, before her space flight
Calandrelli encouraged teachers, families and homeschool families to watch the video and share questions from their kids in the comments of her social media post here.
The full video and other space and science content for kids are available on her YouTube page here.
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