Emily Calandrelli, better known as "Space Gal" to her millions of Netflix and YouTube fans, recently fulfilled her lifelong dream of rocketing into space. During the emotional, 11-minute round trip aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle, Calandrelli and five other passengers traveled at 2,200 mph to achieve weightlessness 62 miles above the Earth.
In the lead-up to the launch, the host of Emily’s Wonder Lab, revealed that she was bringing her dad's college class ring into space as a tribute to the sacrifices he's made for his family.
""My dad grew up in poverty in West Virginia," she wrote. "He was the youngest of four kids to a single mom. He worked since he was 11 years old to build a better life. And was the first in his family to go to college. This ring represents his sacrifice, his dream, his accomplishment."
Calandrelli shared with her social media followers a video clip of how her dad was moved to tears when she revealed her plans.
"So I just wanted to ask you if it would be OK if I brought your college ring…to space with me when I fly?" she asked.
"Absolutely," said her dad, wiping his eyes. "That would be an honor… Oh my gosh. This is a dream come true. That's amazing. I'm so proud of you."
In a separate post, Calandrelli, who is officially the 100th woman to travel to space, detailed her dad's hardscrabble life growing up in rural West Virginia.
Calandrelli revealed that at the age of 5 his family told him they couldn't afford cereal. At age 7, he was forced to walk where he wanted to go because the family couldn't afford a car. Her dad took on a paper route at age 11, because the family needed the extra income. At age 13, he was told he couldn't join the band because the family could not afford a drum. At age 22, he was the first in the family to graduate college. At age 67, he inspired his daughter to become an astronaut.
Calandrelli captioned the video, "My dad ran so I could fly."
The 37-year-old science communicator, whose mission is to inspire young people, particularly little girls, to see themselves in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), described her life-changing experience far above the Earth.
"Oh my gosh, when we got to weightlessness, I immediately turned upside down and looked at the planet, and then there was so much blackness, there was so much space! I didn't expect to see so much space!" she told an interviewer. "And I kept saying, like, '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, that's my baby.' I had that same feeling like where I'm seeing it for the first time. It was just beautiful. Oh my God."
Of the 10 groups of items she brought into space, five were gem- or jewelry-related.
- Her dad’s college ring
- Pins, brooches, and cufflinks that all have different meanings, including some with West Virginia state flags.
- Pearls to give to important women in her life.
- Star charms to give to little girls.
- A handful of tiny meteorites that landed in Russia in 1947. (She wanted to return them to space, if even for just a few minutes.)
- A painting of her daughter as an astronaut.
- Petri dishes with plant seedlings and 100,000 Fast Plant seeds to distribute to students.
- Thumb drive containing the names and dreams of children who watch her show. She put the thumb drive in her flight suit to take their dreams to space.
- A roll of stickers that she will put on signed books that will be sent out to children.
- Photos of the 99 women who went to space before her.
New Shepard has flown 47 people to space (three have flown twice). It is rumored that a single ticket for the 11-minute pilot-less excursion is $1.25 million.
Calandrelli is a WVU graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering and aerospace engineering, as well as an M.S. in aeronautics and astronautics and an M.S. in technology and policy from MIT.
Credits: Emily Calandrelli pic courtesy of Blue Origin. Screen captures via Instagram / thespacegal.