Blue Origin forced to delete footage of female astronaut's first time in space following controversy
She is the 100th woman to fly to space
Jeff Bezos' space company Blue Origin was forced to delete a post of a female astronaut's first trip to space.
Emily Calandrelli - or The Space Gal - became the 100th woman in history to fly to space. The MIT engineer-turned-science communicator was among six 'space tourists' who set out on the ninth human test flight for Blue Origin's New Shepherd spacecraft.
To mark the incredible milestone, Blue Origin shared a video of her reaction after the flight.
In the video, Calandrelli compared the emotional experience to motherhood, explaining: "I didn’t expect to see so much space, and I kept saying that’s our planet! That’s our planet! It was the same feeling I got when my kids were born, and I was like, 'That’s my baby!'"
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Sadly for Calandrelli, it wasn't long before the comments turned toxic with 'sexualized' replies and inappropriate remarks from online trolls.
As a result, Blue Origin pulled the entire video from social media.
"Would you consider yourself the hottest woman to ever go to space? Any other contenders?" was one of the milder comments on the post.
Now, Calandrelli has addressed the situation on Instagram, defining her spaceflight as 'the most perfect, wonderful dream-achieving experience of my life.'
Unfortunately, she recounts how that feeling was soon taken away from her.
Despite support from many fans, including mothers who watched the launch with their daughters, she said the hateful responses left her in tears.
She described how she spent her flight home crying in her seat and texting her 'space sisters,' before thanking a Southwest Airlines flight attendant who recognised her and said: "Don’t let them dull your shine."
While the situation hit the 37-year-old pretty hard, she gave a firm message to her haters.
"I refuse to give much time to the small men on the internet. I feel experiences in my soul," she said. "It’s a trait I got from my father. We feel every emotion deeply and what a beautiful way that is to experience life. This joy is tattooed on my heart."
Fellow astronauts and engineers came along to comment their praise and support her stance.
Female astronaut Kellie Gerardi wrote: "We love you!!! From up there, they were truly the smallest men who ever lived."
And space engineer Joan Marie added: "You did this for young girls, women, and frankly anyone who has a dream they are working towards. I look forward to seeing your video so I can cry all over again."
Calandrelli has since reshared the footage on her own profile where it's received far more positive and supportive responses this time around.
UniladTech has reached out to Blue Origin for comment.