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Maria Varmazas (11:01)

Our guest today is Nicolina Elric, the first Scottish woman in space. Nicolina was part of the Blue Origin NS26 mission which flew to the Karman Line in August of this year and we will be sharing her full story this Saturday for our Deep Space episode.

Nicolina Elric (11:20)

So I was born in Scotland from a very traumatic family. My mom was an alcoholic and I had an absentee father. So it was not great beginnings for me. But you know, I'm a survivor and I kind of thought through and I saw education as my way out. So I worked extremely hard and it was an entrepreneur since the age of five and I've just been doing all these like odd jobs here and there, from like delivering papers to like setting up a company that was doing jello shots to all sorts of random kind of stuff until I kind of found my niche in it. So I was doing programming and I made some money through it investment through the 80s and 90s. I loved it. It was definitely a thriving. And then the bubble happened. So all of us took a great hit and I had to pivot and I found that I wanted to tangible assets. So I then pivoted into construction and real estate and did really well out of that. And then I was doing consulting and companies kept coming out to me saying, hey, we've got a satellite system that you know, we just don't know how to bring it to market. Or we've got this other system that's to do the space and I just kind of rolled into it.

Maria Varmazas (12:18)

You're still fresh off of your trip to space. I mean it's still pretty recent. So please tell me about that experience. I never get sick about hearing people's experiences. I'd love to hear yours.

Nicolina Elric (12:30)

It was the most incredible. I Mean, I've done, I was so overqualified for this launch because I've done, you know, I trained in Russia before with all the cosmonauts. I've done Nastar in Philadelphia. I've done gozero G like 20 times. Love them. Big shout out to go zero G guys, because I thought they would tell me I couldn't go anymore. I was always taking up space, quite literally, but I just love all of that. So when it came to my turn to do it, I was just so prepared. I was calm. I was bringing my whole crew into meditation. And the day of the launch, we were sitting there just really fine tuned together. And when I got into the seat, and you know, it's a five point harness and you're clipped and tight and hard and you've got your white knuckles holding onto the side of the rail. And you look to my right and there's this floor to ceiling windows. And you see the, you know, you just see the dust outside and you think, where's this going to go? Like, how, how? I can't believe I'm actually doing this. This is, this is my moment. The scariest part was like, thankfully they train you for it. The scariest part was like when it goes 3, 2, 1, it doesn't actually take off from there. You have seven seconds after that, number one. And so we sat there going, 7, 6. And when that started happening, the cabin goes red. You see fire coming up the side of your window and you see debris just flying everywhere. And you suddenly think, but you're trained for it, that they tell you this beforehand is that seven seconds before it starts moving that you're going to think that you're like a suckling pig and you're being fried in the middle of something, but you're not and you're good. And it will just take off and it'll start shuddering and it goes up. And the minute it just started going up, you are full thrust all the way. It's like, you know, max three, you're going almost 4,000 kilometers an hour and you're pinned down so hard that, you know, my face is contorted and making all sorts of shapes in this eye. But I kept looking one eye in the monitor and one eye out the window. And I was like, I don't care how I look, this is like the ride of my life. This is what I've dreamed my whole life for. And you watch as the earth just gets smaller and smaller below you. And it's just this fragility of it all you watch and as suddenly it goes from light to dark like a flick of a switch, it suddenly goes black and you're in space. And all that happens, like within minutes. And you're standing there and you're like, your harness becomes, you know, you lift up from your seats and you think there's no space in your harness prior to going up there. There is. When you're in space, you suddenly realize there is a gap. You undo your five point harness and you just float. For me, it was more the view. I didn't want to throw candy or throw water or do somersaults. I was like, I want to see the view. So I went upside down. More for, like, aesthetics in the camera to be like, hey, look at me, I'm upside down. I'm floating. I did that and then I immediately turned back around and clipped myself back. And again I looked out the window and it was just magnetizing. They tell us prior to launch, don't put your hands in the windows. We don't need fingerprints because we're filming at all. There's some science experiments happening. So we need all the camera footage you can get. First thing I did, slam my face to the window and hand prints all over it. I was just like, I want to get out there. Oh, my God, this is incredible. And I was screaming, this is incredible. Get me out there. I want to be in it. There was magnetism. I just felt so drawn into it. It was magnetic and sparkly, and it wasn't like a dark black, like a sad black. It was like a beautiful, shiny, effervescent black that I just. I've never seen in my life before. And all I wanted to do was swim in it. And so I literally was like glued to the window and just thought, I want to immerse myself. And in my head I'm thinking, I'm booking my next space ride. I have to get a trip. I have to start survey. I have to experience this more. And before you know it, they're saying, put your harnesses back on, clip back into seats. So everybody's like checking on one another. We all clicked in. We had little GoPros, did a couple of selfies all around with everyone, shot them a little bit, and then we were coming down. You just see everything coming up fast, you know, And I'm just. Tears were streaming down my face, and I just, I wanted the moment to stop. I wanted, you know, I wanted whole timeline of life to just stop. And I'm looking the fragility of the earth and that thin blue line everyone talks about. Yeah, it's really like that. Not flat, not a flatliner. It's definitely not flat. The earth is round. But yeah, that thin blue line was just like, okay, I need to do something that involves helping Mother Earth, being part of that and embracing, you know, I love to call it Pachamama. Embracing Pachamama and just finding a way to bring space and earth in our harmony together as one. I mean, our mission and goal was about humanitarian causes. We had such a disruptive crew. We had, you know, a Muslim and a Jew and the youngest woman and like everybody was so different and eclectic, but we worked so well. And I think that's the beauty of space, the eclecticism. And like there's no, I mean it's. People talk it ad nauseum. No boundaries, no religion, no nothing. But it really is. And it expands your brain into so many different levels and takes your breath away that you just think, why can't we live like this all the time? Why can't life be like this continuous? So yeah, when I came back down to earth, I came down with a stud. It was really hard for me to kind of like, you know, bring myself back into like how, how the world just evolves and the hate and the anger and everything else and how, you know, and I just, it was great because it made me think I need to help people, I need to change, I need to do something that, yeah, makes in from the roots up. So for me it's kids. I always think if you talk to children, you encourage children, you motivate them, you enlighten them in a way that brings joy to their heart, soul, then they're going to be better people in this world. And if they're happier, better people, there's going to be less war. And if there's less war, then there's going to be more. Everything's going to be better for everybody. So yeah, that was kind of, that, that was kind of my, my, my ten minute little ride. But it just made me so addicted to like, I want to do more. I want to do more.

Maria Varmazas (18:10)

Oh my gosh. The way you described all that, I can only imagine after such a. I mean, you're up there, my life is forever changed, right? I mean, there's Nothing will ever be the same. I mean that is. Not often in life do we get moments like that maybe when, like when our child is born, you know, but going into space is definitely, you know, nothing will ever be the same. And what comes after? I'm always so Curious. And you were starting to get to that because, I mean, walking around in the. On earth going, I've been to space. How do I even kind of go about my day now?

Nicolina Elric (18:43)

Well, that was it. Well, yeah, really. I was like, you know, you would get told by, you know, different. I work with different space agencies. And they were just like, well, Nick, you really should, like, get a publicist. You should arrange all of this. And like. And I just thought, why, why, why do I have to pay money to tell people that we can do better? I'm like, that should naturally grab. Gravitate towards people that can get that message out to the right people at the right time. And so, you know, I reached out to a couple of people by myself and just said, hey, this is my story, you know, I want people to see I'm real rags to riches. I'm a real girl from trauma, can touch the stars, you know, And I've written. I have to say, there's a little bit of a plug. I did write a book about my life that's coming out next year, says Grit Diamond Stars. We have a little bit of a hiccup with some legalities and some people who were in it don't want to be in it anymore. So I'm rewriting them out of the book, which is fine.

Maria Varmazas (19:29)

It's not always the way that happens a lot.

Nicolina Elric (19:32)

Exactly. So I'm kind of going through that at the moment. So unfortunately, it's not going to hit the Christmas book list, but hopefully it'll be a summer read. For next summer, everybody will be single reading of a little girl who goes to space and how her dreams came true. So kind of that's my journey. I'm kind of just talking about that, talking about how anything is possible.

Maria Varmazas (20:03)

We'll be right back. Welcome back. If you have kids or teens in your life who are into science and technology, you might have heard of the subscription box called Crunch Labs. Or perhaps heard of the YouTuber and ex NASA guy Mark Rober. For the kids who like to put things together and then take them apart and figure out how it all works, Rober and his company, Crunch Labs, are all about teaching kids how to think like engineers and helping to train up and inspire the next generations that'll be designing, testing, and building our future. And Redwire is teaming up with Rober and Crunch Labs for something that's a little less of a lesson and more on the pure fun side of things with a side of cool. Enter the Sat Gus mission, where kids can upload selfies of course, it was selfies to spaceselfie.com that picture will be displayed on a Google Pixel phone aboard a satellite, and then Redwire's camera technology will snap HDR photos of the phone against Earth's backdrop and beam the whole thing back to the participants on the ground. And yes, the whole thing is on a satellite and not a balloon. And that satellite will actually be in low Earth orbit via a SpaceX Falcon 9, specifically the upcoming Transporter 12 rideshare. And participants can request even that their selfie be taken when Satgus is actually overhead their own location. So in theory, you can be in your own photo twice. Customers of Crunch Labs, T Mobile and Google Pixel will be able to participate in all this gratis. And anyone else who isn't in those categories can join in by making a $30 donation to sponsor a free robotics kit to a future engineer in need. So yes, this is a viral stunt, but it's a pretty cool one for a STEM outreach project, and part of its goal is to support underserved engineering students globally. That seems like a worthy goal to me, don't you think? The mission hasn't launched yet. Again, Transporter 12 will likely launch in January 2025, so it is plenty of time for you to sign up and get your space selfie. That's it for T minus for December 4, 2024, brought to you by N2K CyberWire. For additional resources from today's report, check out our show notes@spare.n2k.com we'd love to know what you think of this podcast. You can email us@spacentuk.com or submit the survey in the show Notes. Your feedback ensures we deliver the information that keeps you a step ahead in the rapidly changing space industry. N2K strategic workforce intelligence optimizes the value of your biggest investment your people. We make you smarter about your team while making your team smarter. This episode was produced by Alice Carruth. Our associate producer is Liz Stokes. We're mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Trey Hester, with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Iban. Our executive editor is Brandon Karp. Simone Petrella is our president, Peter Kilby is our publisher and I am your host, Maria Varmazas. Thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

Nicolina Elric (23:14)

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