Emily Calandrelli made history on November 22, 2024, when she became the 100th woman to go into space. But this monumental monument has been marred by misogyny, thanks to “little people on the internet,” Calandrelli told Live Science.
“This is what I’ve been trying to do for 20 years,” he said. Astronaut, MIT engineer, bestselling authorTV presenter, STEM influencer, he told Live Science. “It’s been a dream of mine for a long time. Every moment leading up to going to space, I was nervous that it wouldn’t actually happen. And when I got there, all these emotions were welling up. It’s like, “Oh, I’m in space!”
Video of historic launch led by aerospace company blue origin, Shared by the company on social media. However, it wasn’t long before misogynistic and objectifying comments started pouring in.
“This all happened on my way home after experiencing the most perfect and wonderful dream of my life,” Calandrelli said. of West Virginia, wrote on Post it on Instagram. “Instead of being on a cloud, I’m sitting in my seat staring out the window and crying because of course something like this happened. Of course I should have expected this.”
In the post, she said a group of internet trolls made sexual comments about her voice and reactions, which led Blue Origin to remove the video.
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“I never expected to see so many people genuinely mocking the reaction to a dream like that,” Calandrelli said. told Live Science. “I got to experience something that out of the 100 billion humans that have ever existed, only 100 women in history and 700 humans in the history of the planet have experienced. Of course. I would have a pretty extreme reaction to that.”
But Calandrelli didn’t let this deter him from sharing his excitement. She posted the video on social media, and the post has been viewed more than 6 million times worldwide. TikTok As of Friday (December 6th), Instagram and Instagram.
“That’s all you can compare in this world. [the spaceflight] “I’m literally giving birth to my children,” she said, “I’ve always dreamed of being a mother, and you carry this baby in your womb for nine months.” You love it, you see it on the ultrasound, and you finally get to see them.”
Space flight still Industry dominated by men – According to World Space Flight Stats Tracker As of December 6, 2024, 714 people have been in space, according to the U.S. Air Force definition. Only 14% are women.
“For these big dreams, you have to really want it. Your dreams don’t just come to you, you have to fight for them. You have to risk a lot for them. No,” Calandrelli said. “You have to sacrifice certain things, and I think that grit and resilience to failure is one of the best life skills anyone can learn.”
You can read more about Calandrelli’s career leading up to launch in Space.com’s interview with the 100th female astronaut.
This article originally appeared on Space.com’s sister site live science.