By: Avalynne Russell  

     On November 2, 2023, Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 05 Mission launched into a sub-orbital spaceflight carrying the 90th woman in the world to travel to space, Kellie Gerardi. Gerardi is a 36-year-old astronaut, researcher, motivational speaker, author, influencer, and mother from Jupiter, Florida. Inspiring women around the globe, Gerardi has not only shared her spaceflight and large event adventures, but she has also shared her ongoing journey with IVF. Since she has another big flight coming up and has increasingly influenced social media platforms, The Squire thought that its readers would enjoy learning more about Gerardi and how she is changing the world.   

     Recently, Gerardi served as a payload specialist for the Galactic 05/ IIAS-01 research mission and, according to www.virgingalactic.com’s page about the Galactic 05 payloads, “Kellie, sponsored by the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS), will fly three payloads developed through extensive reduced-gravity flight campaigns with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).” Through these payloads, Gerardi examined fluid behavior in low gravity, collected barometric data, and even wore a continuous glucose sensor to gather data on blood glucose changes during spaceflight. Expanding on this mission, Gerardi will fly again with Virgin Galactic on the IIAS-02 research mission with two female research crewmates, Dr. Shawna Pandya of Canada and Dr. Norah Patten of Ireland. According to www.kelliegerardi.com these women are going to, “introduce novel biomedical research.” When she went on her first spaceflight, Gerardi inspired thousands of girls and women everywhere, including her seven-year-old daughter, Delta.  

     While many believe that it is impossible to have a career as Gerardi does and be a good mother simultaneously, Gerardi is proving them all wrong. Not only has she set the example that women can be successful in STEM fields for her daughter, but Gerardi has also taken her to many exclusive and invitation only events, with one notable event being that they both got to walk the New York Fashion Week Runway. Gerardi even wrote a children’s book titled “Luna Muna,” inspired by her daughter. Before she went on a Fox News broadcast last year, Gerardi’s daughter asked why her flight jacket could not be pink, and since she did not have a good answer, she changed her flight jacket from navy blue to pink, and so did Gerardi’s crew before going on the broadcast. While she balances motherhood and her career, Gerardi is also very active on social media, and recently shared her journey with IVF.  

     As stated by www.today.com, “Astronaut, mom and researcher Kellie Gerardi has been taking TikTok followers on her IVF journey. She recently shared the good news that she was pregnant, but, on Feb. 15, she announced in a heartbreaking video that her pregnancy had come to an end.” Gerardi shared almost every aspect of her journey from negative pregnancy tests, to egg viability, and, while she was very vulnerable through the process and to her almost one million followers on Tik Tok, Gerardi showed women everywhere that they are not alone in their own IVF journeys, and she set the example even further for young girls that you can have a successful career and be a good mother, even through the negativity of others. As she explained on her Tik Tok and Instagram pages, her last chance to get pregnant was January 2025, otherwise it would interfere with her upcoming space mission in 2026. But, when asked if she regrets announcing her pregnancy so early, Gerardi has stated on Tik Tok, “Never. I would have missed out 9 weeks of miraculous joy & shared celebration from the community who supported me through my IVF journey.” Through her openness, kindness, and intelligence, Gerardi is changing the stigma, and catapulting through glass ceilings everywhere.   

     As you can see, Gerardi has a very busy and fulfilling life. The Squire even reached out for an interview with Gerardi, but she regretfully told us that her schedule is too busy to properly answer our questions, but she also told us, “I’m so touched that you’d think of me…”, and we think that is still pretty cool. Go check out Gerardi’s socials, @kelliegerardi, on Instagram and Tik Tok, and we want to wish her and her crew good luck on their upcoming mission!  

Photo credit to @kelliegerardi on Instagram.