Gazing out the window of a rocket at Earth’s glistening blue perimeter, Emily Calandrelli’s mind was likely far from away from the trolls that inhabit the internet on this planet.
But less than 24 hours after the MIT engineer and TV host known as “Space Gal” became the 100th woman to venture into space, “hoards of men” online sexualized her raw and emotional response, the author and astronaut said in a social media post.
In a video released by Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company Blue Origin, a wonderstruck Calandrelli, who was one of six space tourists to join the launch, can be seen looking out the window and gushing, “Oh my God, this is space.”
It was an emotional and poignant reaction to achieving what Calandrelli called a dream “decades in the making.”
Hundreds of social media users shared messages of support for Calandrelli, calling her an inspiration for women and young girls. Several women commented on her post saying they had watched the live stream of the launch with their daughters.
But trolls seized on her reaction, making so many offensive comments that Blue Origin took down its original video from the launch and replaced it with an edited one, Calandrelli said. CNN has reached out to Blue Origin for comment.
Calandrelli said she would not let online trolls ruin an experience that brought her “the most life-altering spectacular joy and awe.”
“I refuse to give much time to the small men on the internet. I feel experiences in my soul,” Calandrelli said in the post.
“I will not apologize or feel weird about my reaction. It’s wholly mine and I love it.”
A representative for Calandrelli said she did not wish to comment further and would prefer to focus on the inspiration her journey has given others, rather than posts by “misguided” trolls.
