Kellie Gerardi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kellie Gerardi
Kellie Gerardi, Scientist-Astronaut Candidate, Project PoSSUM
Kellie Gerardi for Project PoSSUM
BornFebruary 16, 1989[1]
Jupiter, Florida[2]
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Customer support and media in private spaceflight
EmployerPalantir Technologies
Known forCommercial citizen science
Spouse
Steven Baumruk
​
(m. 2015)​
[3]
ChildrenDelta V[2]
Websitekelliegerardi.com

Kellie Gerardi (born February 16, 1989) is an American social media influencer, customer support and media professional in private spaceflight, and commercial citizen scientist who is known for her sub-orbital spaceflight with Virgin Galactic and candidacy for the Mars One mission.

Education[edit]

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[edit]

In 2012, she joined the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, a commercial spaceflight lobbyist, as a media specialist and copywriter.[3][6]

From 2014 to 2020, Girardi worked in business development at Masten Space Systems.[3]

In 2015, she began working with Palantir Technologies, a Peter Thiel software company, as a customer support specialist.[2][3] Her title is missions operations lead[7] on what Palantir describes as the "logistical special forces unit," which provides customer service and acts as a travel agency. She said she is a technical project manager for Gotham, which she described as a philanthropic effort, a controversial data analysis tool that is used by law enforcement and government agencies, like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to screen immigrants at the Mexico–United States border. She said she was sent to help Team Rubicon provide disaster relief to people impacted by Hurricane Harvey in 2017.[8]

Citizen science and science communication[edit]

After meeting Richard Garriott while working coat check at The Explorers Club in 2014, she decided to join.[3][6] She later served on the board of directors. She now serves the Truman National Security Project as part of the Defense Council.[9]

In 2014, she was accepted as candidate for the Mars One mission, a bankrupt organization that planned to colonize Mars as a reality television show, which gained her national attention.[8][10][11] She then spent two months training as a crew member at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS).[3] In 2015, she wrote an essay in Popular Mechanics about her experience at the MDRS, where she ate insects like tarantulas and practiced moving in 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. She said the experiments showed beer could be brewed on Mars.[14][15]

Kellie Gerardi returning from a successful microgravity research flight.
Kellie Gerardi returning from a successful microgravity research flight.

In 2017,[3] Gerardi joined a private education and research facility in Denver called the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) that uses Florida Institute of Technology for accreditation.[16] Girardi completed a program called "Project PoSSUM," which consists of a five-day course and online webinars that costs more than $20,000 and says it trains citizen astronauts.[17][3][2] The program conducts bioastronautics research and space-suit technology development.[18] She said she was motivated to democratize space access and monetize space travel.[2]

On November 2, 2023, Gerardi flew the one-hour sub-orbital spaceflight operated by the space tourism company Virgin Galactic, Galactic 05, as a citizen scientist doing commercial research.[19] Onboard, she collected bioastronautical research data for three experiments on microgravity healthcare and fluid dynamics developed by the National Research Council. IIAS sponsored her trip.[3][20] She wore a smart garment called Astroskin by a Canadian startup Hexoskin from that continuously tracked her vitals and a glucose monitor to investigate any relation between high-altitude flight and insulin resistance.[7][21][22] The fluid dynamics tests were to inform future designs of syringes and humidifiers.[21]

Gerardi is a popular TikTok influencer.[3] As of March 2024, she had over 764,000 followers.[23] As of March 2024, she had over 500,000 followers on Instagram.[2] She says she wants to use her platform to demonstrate a path toward space industry work that isn't based in traditional science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.[8] She has brand partnerships with Land Rover, Sephora, and TJ Maxx.[24][25][26] In 2024, she partnered with Sun Chips.[27] In 2021 and 2023, she walked in New York Fashion Week shows, wearing her navy space suit[28] and a space-themed dress she designed, respectively.[29] In 2021, Gerardi partnered with NASA to host the first all-female episode of NASA Science Live during Women's History Month.[30]

In 2020, Mango Publishing published her memoir, Not Necessarily Rocket Science: A Beginner's Guide To Life in the Space Age.[31][4][32]

Gerardi writes a series of children's books about space called Luna Muna.[33]

Personal life[edit]

In 2015, her space-themed wedding at Woodstock Inn & Resort in Vermont to Steve Baumrak was featured in The Knot.[34] It was one of four weddings officiated by astronaut Michael López-Alegría, a commander of the International Space Station.[34][35] Their wedding website says their idea of a relaxing vacation is to spend "an entire week in North Korea."[36]

She lives in Jupiter with Baumrak and their daughter Delta V, who was named for delta-v, the quantitative measure of a change in velocity.[31][2][3]

References[edit]

  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". Kellie Gerardi's Official Instagram. February 16, 2018. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 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 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 Glester, Andrew (2020-12-14). "Aspiring astronaut and Space Age ambassador". Physics World.
  7. ^ a b 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.
  8. ^ a b c 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.
  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. ^ Sciences, International Institute of Astronautical. "The IIAS Astronautical Science Program – International Institute for Astronautical Sciences". Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  18. ^ Reimuller, Jason (2018-06-01). "Project PoSSUM Graduates Scientist-Astronaut Class 1801 at Embry-Riddle". Project PoSSUM. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ Harwood, William (November 2, 2023). "Virgin Galactic launches fifth commercial flight to sub-orbital space and back". CBS News. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  21. ^ 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.
  22. ^ "NASA scientist flies to edge of space for suborbital research". Gizmodo. 2023-11-03. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  23. ^ "@kelliegerardi". TikTok (Profile). Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  24. ^ Range Rover: From Jupiter, With Love (YouTube video), Aug 16, 2022, retrieved 2024-02-13
  25. ^ Stories of Belonging: Aerospace Professional Kellie's Out of This World Dream | Sephora (YouTube video), Mar 4, 2021, retrieved 2024-02-13
  26. ^ Gerardi, Kellie (January 26, 2024). "#ad SO honored to be part of the @TJ Maxx #MaxxYou campaign— we're all so much more than any one label. What are you #MoreThan ? ❤️". TikTok. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  27. ^ "SunChips Debuts an Ecplise-Inspired Bag of Chips with 2 Flavors In It". Food & Wine. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  28. ^ 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.
  29. ^ Smith, Jamie Davis (2024-04-10). "What Astronaut Kellie Gerardi Packs When She Travels—By Airplane or Spaceship". Thrillist. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  30. ^ "NASA Astrobiology". astrobiology.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  31. ^ a b published, Chelsea Gohd (2021-06-05). "Virgin Galactic to launch science communicator and researcher to space". Space.com. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  32. ^ "Kellie Gerardi's Exciting Announcement". Mango Publishing. 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  33. ^ 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.
  34. ^ a b "A Glam, Space-Themed Wedding at Woodstock Inn & Resort in Woodstock, Vermont". September 6, 2015.
  35. ^ "We Spoke To Astronauts About How Space Tourism Will Change Life Here On Earth". The Suitest. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  36. ^ "Kellie + Steven | Woodstock Inn and Quechee Club Vermont". Lovely Valentine. 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2024-06-02.

External links[edit]

Scholia has a profile for Kellie Gerardi (Q23762547).
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kellie_Gerardi&oldid=1226971647"