For under the second time, VSS Unity, Virgin Galactic’s suborbital house aircraft, was remodeled right into a science laboratory. Galactic 05 efficiently accomplished its mission on Nov. 2, however for Kellie Gerardi, Galactic 05 crewmember and Virgin Galactic Astronaut 021, the coaching and preparation for the flight goes again virtually a decade. She sat down with NSF to element what it takes to conduct industrial suborbital analysis.
Gerardi stated her coaching started two years earlier than the flight, however unofficially began a decade in the past. She volunteered as a coat checker on the Explorers Membership in New York Metropolis whereas in school. The group is an esteemed society that goals to advertise and acknowledge pioneers in scientific exploration and subject research. Honorees embody the Apollo 11 crew, Elon Musk, Sir Edmund Hillary, and extra.
Kellie Gerardi in her flight go well with previous to the mission. (Credit score: Virgin Galactic)
Whereas volunteering, she met Richard Garriott de Cayeux, a online game designer who, along with being the son of NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, bought a seat aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket and visited the Worldwide Area Station in 2008. Gerardi thanks Garriott de Cayeux for first introducing her to the concept of economic spaceflight.
“I graduated the identical 12 months that the house shuttle program retired, and I used to be oblivious to the existence at the moment of this kind of nascent industrial trade and it blew my thoughts,” Gerardi stated. “I simply bear in mind pondering ‘I wish to be part of that’ and so the purpose was by no means even initially how do I get myself to fly? It was how do I assist create the Star Trek future the place we’re democratizing entry to house, we’re increasing Earth’s financial sphere?”
That encounter led her to satisfy the Suborbital Researchers Group, which included Dr. Alan Stern, who would fly alongside her on Galactic 05.
Gerardi labored with the Protection Superior Analysis Initiatives Company (DARPA) earlier than becoming a member of Masten Area Methods. Throughout that point, she was in a position to work a number of take a look at stands away from Virgin Galactic’s work zone within the Mojave Desert.
She acquired her first style of astronaut life and hands-on analysis whereas collaborating in an analog mission on the Mars Desert Analysis Station whereas becoming a member of the Worldwide Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) in 2017.
“I used to be alleged to be there in 2016, however I used to be pregnant and couldn’t fly,” Gerardi stated. “So, actually proper after I gave start, and after I say actually, I imply I used to be nonetheless carrying Spanx beneath my flight go well with to maintain all of my organs in place, I used to be like proper there. That was actually thrilling as a result of we examined an actual prototype of their EVA go well with through the Mars Desert Analysis Station rotation.”
Kellie Gerardi donning her EVA go well with as a part of Mars Desert Analysis Station Crew 149. (Credit score: Kellie Gerardi)
Throughout this time, she started working for Palantir. All of those experiences would lead Gerardi to her first flight to the sting of house.
IIAS shared which experiments they deliberate to fly with Virgin Galactic greater than two years earlier than the precise flight passed off, Gerardi stated. When she came upon she could be flying these experiments, she had a distinct response than most would possibly anticipate.
Gerardi aboard a microgravity coaching flight. (Credit score: Kellie Gerardi)
“I do know that I’m alleged to say I by no means might have dreamed of this, however that wouldn’t be true as a result of I dreamed of that intimately, excruciating element,” Gerardi stated. “Once I knew that I used to be having the chance to fly, after all it’s like an amazing gratitude for the belief that IIAS is putting in me, the boldness they’re putting in me, the stress that’s being positioned on my shoulders to be the, , finest ambassador that I could possibly be, not just for IIAS but in addition for suborbital science typically, for the industrial house trade, for girls in STEM, for similar to, , decide your kind of roulette slot, and I felt a way of stress to reside as much as these expectations.”
Gerardi says she and Dr. Stern each agreed one in every of their most helpful experiences in getting ready for the precise flight was parabolic microgravity flights, the place an airplane pitches up, giving passengers almost 2G of power pushing towards them, earlier than pitching over and downward within the form of a parabola, permitting slightly below 30 seconds of close to zero-G situations.
Gerardi and Stern partnered with the Nationwide Analysis Council of Canada, which allowed for microgravity coaching aboard a Dassault Falcon 20 plane.
“It’s a very dynamic setting in house, particularly like instantly post-boost, and also you’ve acquired the principle engine cutoff (MECO), and then you definitely’ve acquired the coast to apogee, however when the response management system (RCS) is firing in that car, it’s like one thing that was two inches away is now two toes away, and the car inverts,” Gerardi stated. “In order that a part of flight, it’s like you may academically put together for it, and what’s going to occur, they usually put together you so effectively. However if you’re experiencing it, it’s like, thank God we had that muscle reminiscence to depend on of parabolic flight, as a result of if you’re doing one thing with advantageous motor, like I’m opening a payload stowage answer, I’m unstowing, I’m securing, I’m doing issues, and that I don’t assume I might have been in a position to do had I not had that intensive expertise in microgravity.”
IIAS services in Florida additionally allowed for flights aboard an Additional 300 for high-G coaching.
There was one further piece of coaching that occurred earlier than getting hands-on expertise at Spaceport America in New Mexico; coaching to make use of a most absorbency garment (MAG).
“This was simply not on my imaginative and prescient board after I dreamed of going to house as a bit lady,” Gerardi stated.
She stated they have been instilled with the significance of hydration.
“You’re within the desert and it’s so sizzling, and if there’s a delay, you don’t wish to unintentionally prohibit your hydration,” Gerardi famous. “Hydration actually makes a distinction with G tolerance. For those who’re dehydrated, you may lose as much as half a G of tolerance in your capability to face up to excessive G-forces. So it’s actually essential. So I understood why MAGs are so essential and useful.”
She additionally famous it could possibly be useful for anyone who may need a nervous bladder to have the ability to totally benefit from the flight. Moreover subject testing it, she famous one thing particular about hers.
“It was space-themed,” Gerardi famous whereas chuckling. “It was like little youngsters like drawing [a] space-themed diaper. So yeah, it was actually humorous.”
Ships mated? ✅
Analysis groups onsite? ✅
Astronauts in coaching? ✅
Should be a spaceflight week 😎🚀 #Galactic05 is monitoring for this Thursday, November 2. pic.twitter.com/D7pIGSIReg
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) October 30, 2023
One week earlier than the flight, the crew arrived for official pre-flight coaching in New Mexico. Gerardi notes the coaching for herself and Dr. Stern was totally different from the third passenger, Ketty Maisonrouge, who was collaborating as a paying buyer versus a researcher.
“That was simply because there’s totally different operational and security considerations if you’re free-floating issues or like stowing issues,” Gerardi famous.
Coaching included observe inside a simulator in addition to contained in the precise ship, VSS Unity.
“They’ve a full mock-up of the car that they shut off they usually run with audio, pilot audio, and visible out the home windows,” Gerardi remembered. “You see like on screens such as you dropping away from [the mothership] Eve. And so these have been actually high-fidelity simulations that have been constructed to spec. And so we ran by means of these, Alan and I ran by means of these with our payload crew various occasions.”
She famous that all through the entire course of, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was watching. That included somebody from the FAA current through Zoom throughout key assessments together with bailout and oxygen coaching.
Gerardi present process hypoxia coaching in 2021. (Credit score: Kellie Gerardi)
When it got here to the coaching aboard the precise house aircraft, Gerardi in contrast it to memorizing choreography. She stated the very last thing she needed was to be the primary participant allowed to free-float an experiment and mess it up, eradicating the power for future flyers to carry out one thing comparable.
“I imply even the evening earlier than I used to be in my resort room with a blindfold on doing a one-handed model of the discharge [of the payload] over and over,” Gerardi stated. “I had a backup mock-up and simply working towards in order that even when all different senses have been impaired, I used to be going to have the ability to get that factor safely stowed.”
Gerardi’s three experiments included the beforehand talked about free-floating experiment generally known as “Configuration of a Confined Fluid in a Low-Gravity Setting,” with the purpose of higher predicting and controlling the form of fluids in microgravity to assist forestall an incident like in 2013 when ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano almost drowned throughout a spacewalk on account of a clogged filter. The hope is to additionally use the information to develop syringe designs for administering medication in house.
She wore Astroskin, a biomonitoring system that can be at the moment used aboard the ISS. This system tracks physique features comparable to coronary heart fee, respiratory fee, and pores and skin temperature, with Gerardi’s mission marking the primary time it was used to gather information through the launch, re-entry, and touchdown phases of flight.
.@KellieGerardi is carrying an Astroskin biomonitoring system developed with the assist of the Canadian Area Company (@CSA). Enjoyable Truth: The Astroskin is at the moment in use by astronauts aboard the @ISS! #Galactic05 marks the primary time this expertise will likely be used throughout launch,… pic.twitter.com/yXNlpSBwo2
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) November 2, 2023
Gerardi additionally wore a steady blood glucose monitor. This was hooked up a number of days earlier than her flight and he or she was carrying it when this interview was carried out lower than per week after her flight. The monitor was used to collect information that will assist to handle considerations that insulin resistance would possibly develop extra shortly throughout spaceflight.
One of many key variations Gerardi famous within the coaching for Galactic 05 in comparison with different autos was the power to make adjustments to payload storage and features on the aircraft as late because the day earlier than flight. These plans are usually finalized months upfront on longer-duration spaceflights.
“Alan modified one of many stowage options for his payload along with his carabiner and his tether the day earlier than flight,” Gerardi remembered. “It was such a greater answer, too, that if we had been of, I don’t know, restricted to dogmatically enforced timelines only for the sake of locking it in, however with out the power to have any kind of pragmatic pondering, we might have had a suboptimal answer that might have resulted in us interfering with one another’s choreography.”
Gerardi notes one in every of her largest struggles was to have the ability to activate a GoPro digicam and confirm that it was recording quarter-hour previous to launch.
What analysis is @KellieGerardi conducting throughout #Galactic05? Let’s talk about!
First: Kellie’s fluids experiment will free float within the spaceship cabin to look at how a confined fluid behaves in low gravity. Information gathered from the #Galactic05 spaceflight can assist inform a variety… pic.twitter.com/4Rp6NTnmYY
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) November 2, 2023
“The payload was proper subsequent to me on my proper facet, and solely with my center finger might I like barely graze the highest, however I wouldn’t have the ability to examine that the sunshine was on and may you think about if I did all of this and the GoPro mild wasn’t on,” Gerardi anxiously remembered?
“What I ended up with the ability to do was loosen one in every of my left shoulder straps, keep optimistic management of it, however maneuver my physique to achieve down and examine and see the sunshine reflecting off of my finger from the GoPro after which re-strap up and inform them cabin was safe, and the truth that I used to be in a position to make these modifications, it was nice to have the ability to work with the [Virgin Galactic] crew.”
Then all of it got here right down to flight day. Gerardi stated her go well with was frolicked for her much like how her marriage ceremony gown was when she acquired married. Then it was time to board Unity.
“I imply that was perhaps some of the profound components of the flight seeing all my household and buddies, wonderful, as we have been taxiing away, however the very last thing I noticed was all the Virgin Galactic flight line engineers in a line waving us off and sending us off,” Gerardi recalled. “I do know what it’s wish to ship {hardware} to house and to really feel that, however sending colleagues and people and folks that you just simply sealed off and put in there. I imply, it was simply, I had chills type of from that visible and it was so significant.”
The Galactic 05 crew strolling out on launch day. (Credit score: Virgin Galactic)
The mothership Eve, with VSS Unity beneath, took off at 9:00 AM native time from Spaceport America, starting a climb to a launch altitude close to 50,000 toes. Gerardi remembered the clear blue skies that day, together with her household with the ability to see everything of her flight from the bottom. Nevertheless it was one thing within the air that jumped out at her.
“I acquired to see this gradient of blue going from the lightest to the darkest navy after which it acquired actually darkish actual fast,” Gerardi stated with a child-like smile throughout her face. “For a number of moments circling at that launch altitude, I simply thought it was essentially the most lovely factor on this planet. After which a couple of minutes later I believed one thing else was essentially the most lovely factor on this planet. However it was, like, staggering. That psychological image stands out to me on most quick recall.”
Then got here the second of launch, which Dr. Stern known as ‘surreal.’
“You’re dropped and also you simply watch Eve go, whoosh, after which impulsively, you’re flat in your again, and it’s like using a rocket to the celebrities,” Gerardi vividly remembered. “I imply, you’re simply going backwards, and you’re feeling that you just’re using a rocket. Like, it’s proper behind you…I’ve carried out a ton of high-G flights. I’ve carried out centrifuge coaching, I’ve carried out all of it, however simply being in your again and using a rocket to the celebrities was like, I simply, it was like sci-fi. And it was so cool.”
Galactic 05 drop and ignition. One other suborbital spaceflight within the books! Congratulations @AlanStern, @kelliegerardi, @VirginGalactic, and @Spaceport_NM! @NASASpaceflight pic.twitter.com/8LUNTABDyo
— Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer) November 2, 2023
Gerardi stated she had a smile plastered on her face the whole time and is wanting ahead to seeing the uncooked flight footage to recall her expressions.
“I appeared on the transient clips I shared of everybody else’s faces which can be taking it very critically, and perhaps even doing respiratory methods, and I’m simply cheesing,” Gerardi joked.
Gerardi famous there have been particular callouts on this flight that have been particular to the analysis being carried out, along with astronaut teacher Colin Bennett calling out time increments each 20 seconds. She stated that the whole first portion of the flight following unstrapping from her seat is blacked out attributable to her give attention to finishing her experiments.
“I used to be conscious that we have been in house, however I used to be so paranoid about getting the science and doing proper by my crew, and doing proper by so many individuals who had positioned their religion in me that I used to be conscious, however not current in that portion,” Gerardi stated. “I used to be so solely targeted on getting this payload safely unstowed, getting the information.”
Actually, on her deliberate timeline, 20 seconds have been allotted for acclimating to microgravity. Nevertheless, Gerardi instantly jumped into the science.
“I simply began a free float, and in that first block, I already doubled, almost tripled, the utmost period of time we had ever gotten in parabolic flight of a free float,” Gerardi excitedly stated.
Whereas the outcomes of the experiment haven’t but been launched, Gerardi stated all information will likely be accessible to the general public freed from cost as soon as it’s revealed.
One factor she did notice was that her experiment carried out very otherwise than she’d anticipated.
Kellie Gerardi conducting her fluids experiment mid-flight. (Credit score: Virgin Galactic)
“I had by no means seen the experiment behave the best way it did in house, even after seeing it tons of of occasions on earth and in freefall, close to freefall,” Gerardi recalled. “I had by no means seen it behave prefer it did. And so I used to be simply so excited. Every little thing labored so completely. After which I stowed it and I used to be like mentally cheering myself on as a result of I acquired it stowed.”
“So I appeared like knowledgeable. And I’m knowledgeable, nevertheless it was essential to me that I appeared like one too, as a result of it was like, I used to be so aware that everybody was watching, and this was the primary time that Virgin had allowed somebody to do what I used to be doing, and it was crucial to me that I did proper by that chance in order that the subsequent particular person has an excellent simpler time convincing the crew of what they wish to do in house, free-floating-wise.”
Following the completion of her experiment, Gerardi remembered the cabin being extraordinarily quiet, saying you may hear a pin drop with no motors or RCS thrusters firing throughout that portion of the flight.
Finishing that process lastly allowed her to look out the window on the Earth.
“I turned out my window and I actually noticed house and Earth for the primary time and I, it took my breath away, prefer it actually took my breath away,” Kellie famous together with her eyes beginning to water. “I watched myself on video, just like the respiratory and the awe, I used to be simply in a stupor and it makes me type of emotional to consider, however I additionally in all probability interrupted everybody’s apogee expertise as a result of twice Alan instructed me that, and I don’t actually bear in mind this, however I simply was like, ‘oh my god, oh my god’, and it’s like everybody else had already had a number of time to look out the window and I used to be simply so targeted and so this was my first time actually, actually experiencing it and it was essentially the most lovely factor I’ve ever seen.”
Gerardi’s first view of the Earth whereas in flight. (Credit score: Virgin Galactic)
As she remembered looking the window, away from her seat 2L, Gerardi waxed philosophically, with the tears nonetheless in her eyes and a big smile on her face.
“We’ve all seen, since childhood, so many footage of the Earth and so many images from a lot additional away than I used to be, nevertheless it was the primary time that I had skilled Earth as a planet,” Gerardi stated fortunately. “I don’t fairly know how one can describe it, however I believe I had a really educational understanding of Earth as a planet and being this cognitive dissonance of being each part of it as a house but in addition away from it sufficient to expertise it as a planet amongst different planets was an extremely highly effective and disorienting sensation and I simply…that skinny shiny shiny blue band of ambiance it’s just like the simply fragility of it and nothing that I hadn’t seen earlier than from photos, however not like something I’d ever skilled earlier than. And so it was simply that and it was magical and overwhelming.”
Gerardi famous with this interview being carried out so near the completion of her flight that she had but to actually course of what it meant. Whereas describing the planet, Gerardi had giant, shiny eyes and a smile that saved rising with every added description, as she processed the reminiscence in real-time.
She famous that there have been two call-outs previous to re-entry, one in every of which was to get close to to your seat, adopted by the ultimate name to strap in. Gerardi says she waited till the final likelihood to reattach her five-point harness.
Following touchdown, Gerardi ran to hug her daughter, Delta V, named after the impulse per unit of spacecraft mass that’s wanted to carry out a maneuver. The second was shared on her Instagram account, which at the moment has over 346,000 followers, and on TikTok the place she has an viewers of greater than 728,000 followers. She desires the trolls and naysayers to know the importance of the reunion portion of flight.
@kelliegerardi I promised Delta I might come proper again dwelling to Earth…. Thanks @VirginGalactic 🥹💜
“I shared this reunion video of me and my daughter and it was simply so highly effective. And naturally you get the trolls who’re like, you have been gone for lower than two hours, why are you so dramatic?” Gerardi laughed. “To begin with, blocked. Second of all, , away for less than a brief time frame. Like, that wasn’t the message. That’s not why my daughter was operating to me. That’s not why I used to be operating to my daughter. We’ve been away from one another for a lot of weeks whereas I labored abroad. The message was that that is one thing that fewer than 100 ladies have ever had the chance to do in historical past. And the limiter has all the time been entry and never aptitude.”
“It’s like, I don’t assume I’m extraordinary or particular in any means, and I stay up for broadening that horizon. However this was the fifth industrial flight ever for Virgin Galactic. So, one, to perform this from their facet safely and to return me to my daughter on one thing that also has experimental stamped on that spacecraft and to look at my daughter watch me expertise this factor that for her complete life, she’s all the time identified from the day she was born that that was mommy’s dream. So it was all of that was layered in, in that reunion. And it had nothing to do with the time away. It had every thing to do with the profundity of this second in time and what it means.”
Kellie Gerardi together with her husband and daughter shortly after returning to Spaceport America after Galactic 05. (Credit score: Jack Beyer for NSF)
Readjusting to regular life following the journey had been difficult for the primary few days post-flight. Gerardi famous that she had been crying each evening earlier than sleep, not figuring out precisely why she was crying.
She additionally recalled two humorous moments whereas out with household.
“Each time that I’m driving within the automobile with my husband and I flip to him and nonetheless seize his shoulder, I’m like, I left the freaking planet,” Gerardi stated excitedly. “I actually maintain having these moments the place I’ve to virtually grip one thing and inform the particular person subsequent to me, I left Earth. I went to house.”
One one that was completely happy to inform individuals about Gerardi’s journey was her mom, which led to the second humorous second.
“We have been in [a local supermarket],” Gerardi remembered with a giant smile. “I used to be ordering sliced turkey from the deli and he or she’s like, ‘my daughter simply acquired again from house’, that is like two days after we acquired again. I’m like, mother!”
Gerardi says she hopes to proceed to share her expertise and the concept these days, something is feasible.
“It’s not the period of, oh, you need to be the previous stiff astronaut, every thing’s going to be all that, proper,” Gerardi requested. “I flew to house within the 12 months of the Barbie film, within the 12 months of the [Taylor Swift] Eras tour, within the 12 months of the [Beyoncé] Renaissance tour, okay? It’s like, we have been going to carry it. And so, that was all high of thoughts for me.”
The writer together with Kellie Gerardi following the interview for this text. (Credit score: Sawyer Rosenstein for NSF)
Gerardi has revealed a private e book titled Not Essentially Rocket Science: A Newbie’s Information to Life within the Area Age, along with a kids’s e book sequence known as Luna Muna. Whereas studying the latter to a bunch of scholars at her daughter’s college, Gerardi got here to a extremely distinctive realization.
“I take a look at Delta and I take a look at all of her classmates they usually actually are similar to, ‘Oh yeah I might go to house sooner or later too, however I might additionally do a number of different issues’ and it’s like that’s so true,” Gerardi recalled. “My gender schema was very totally different than my daughter’s after I was rising up. I believe that’s why I wore jewellery in house.”
“It’s why I had sizzling pink nails,” Kellie stated exhibiting them off, nonetheless sporting the intense shade. “It’s why I wore friendship bracelets. Not that I did that deliberately to make some extent, it’s extra that I introduced my full self to house and felt there was no a part of me that even thought for a second I ought to tone it down. It’s firming it up. Get in losers we’re going to house!”
Onlookers view VSS Unity after it had accomplished the Galactic 05 flight. (Credit score: Jack Beyer for NSF)
Moreover hoping for extra of her colleagues to get the prospect to carry out analysis in house, Gerardi hopes that sort of willingness to be your self in house will encourage much more individuals to pursue their goals and obtain spaceflight: suborbital or orbital.
“I believe it makes it extra actual and accessible and genuine to individuals to know, like that’s why it’s the human in human spaceflight,” Gerardi stated. “If we have been simply sending robots, yeah, for positive, we might discuss solely in regards to the {hardware}, however we’re not. We’re sending human beings who’ve intervals, who’ve kids, who’ve lives and communities and households and feelings and all of that will get rolled into that have. And that was mine.”
(Lead Picture: From left to proper, Kellie Gerardi, Dr. Alan Stern, and Ketty Maisonrouge following the Galactic 05 flight. Credit score: Jack Beyer for NSF)
