Florida-based social media influencer Kellie Gerardi isn’t a trained scientist, but she is a science communicator who’s obsessed with outer space.
In 2015, she and her fiancé Steven got married in a space-themed wedding, complete with Star Wars Stormtroopers.
In late 2017, the couple welcomed a baby girl named Delta Victoria, or “Delta V.” Why? Here’s how Kellie explained it:
[W]e named her Delta Victoria for delta-v … aka “change in velocity” as used in spacecraft flight dynamics.
(In mathematics, the uppercase Greek letter delta, which resembles a triangle, denotes a change in quantity.)
In August of 2021, when the Delta variant of COVID-19 was prevalent, Kellie mentioned in a tweet that her 3-year-old daughter “once thought the airline would be the most annoying namesake joke.” In response, Delta Air Lines sent Delta Victoria a care package that included items (like a backpack, and some cookies) featuring their shared name.
P.S. Kellie Gerardi finally took her first trip to space in November of 2023, as part of Virgin Galactic’s “Galactic 05” research mission.
Sources:
- Meet the mom, 32, who has fulfilled her dream as a citizen astronaut on Virgin Galactic – Daily Mail Online
- Gerardi, Kellie (@kelliegerardi) “The real answer is we named her…” Instagram post 27 May 2023.
- Delta Air Lines Sends 3-Year-Old Girl Named Delta Special Care Package Amid COVID Spike – People
Image: Adapted from STS-133 Discovery Lift Off Launch Pad 39A KSC (NASA)
