A Blue Origin astronaut had an unpleasant return to Earth when footage of her first time in space had to be removed from Instagram.
Being the 100th woman in space is something of a big deal, but sadly for female astronaut Emily Calandrelli, she wasn't able to celebrate this landmark moment in history for too long. Although you might think we've come a long way from Valentina Tereshkova being the first woman in space back in 1963, some attitudes clearly haven't changed.
Calandrelli celebrated her trip to the stars in a video where she could barely contain her emotions, but after the official Blue Origin accounts shared it on socials, the comments were flooded with misogynistic and sexist remarks.
After Blue Origin pulled the video, Calandrelli took to Instagram to share her side of the story, as well as her heartbreaking trip back home. In the caption, Calandrelli explained how she was left in tears during her flight, saying that instead of being on cloud nine, she was 'crying in my seat staring out the window.'
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Calandarelli was texting her 'space sisters' for support (of which there's plenty) to ‘share anger and sadness and to receive validation that I have nothing to be embarrassed of.' Finding the strength she needed, Calandrelli added: "I had to take a moment to feminism myself if I’m being quite honest."
It's not just others in the space profession who've sent Calandrelli their love, as her post refers to a female stewardess who whispered, "Don’t let them dull your shine," when she left the plane.
Calandrelli was one of the six 'space tourists' to take the successful flight on Blue Origin's NS-28 mission, and as well as being the 100th woman in space, she celebrated another milestone as only the 10th woman to fly on a suborbital spaceflight above the Kármán line.
You might know Calandrelli under her YouTube handle of 'Space Gal', where she's amassed 81,000 subscribers, or as the host of Emily's Wonder Lab on Netflix.
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She uses her social media presence and public speaking to raise advocacy for scientific literacy, the benefits of space exploration, and to promote careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In particular, she pushes for girls and women in STEM jobs, alongside parental leave for those in the aerospace industry.
While there have only been nine space tourist flights under Blue Origin, Calandrelli is well qualified to take the trip.
Taking her love of the cosmos from a young age into a bachelor's degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from West Virginia University, she then completed her master's in Aeronautics and Astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Her LinkedIn reveals that's not all she's done, with her bio reading: "MIT engineer turned Emmy-nominated science TV host, #1 New York Times bestselling author, Blue Origin astronaut, and TEDx speaker (x3)."
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Thankfully, Calandrelli doesn't look like she'll let the trolls get her down, with a representative telling CNN how she prefers to focus on the 'positive impact' rather than engaging with 'misguided' remarks.
Even though she's set to continue pushing for women in space, we imagine she'll be taking a bit of a rest now that her feet are firmly back on the ground.