Like much of the STEM world, space exploration has been male-dominated for decades, with NASA's early female "computers" (see Hidden Figures) working behind the scenes to make the calculations that enabled male astronauts to orbit. Sally Ride became the first female U.S. astronaut, decades after male astronauts walked on the moon. Sally Ride just became the first female U.S. astronaut in space, decades after male astronauts walked on the moon.

Now, as Virgin Galactic (a spin-off of Virgin Airlines run by Sir Richard Branson) is about to send its first space traveler into the skies, women are essential to the project. In fact, without them, the $250,000-a-ticket service might not get off the launch pad.

COVID-19 managed to scratch out an early summer 2020 launch. But now, with two test flights completed, the company is planning its first trip to send Branson and five tourists into space in the first quarter of 2021. By its very nature, the engineering and design of space travel dovetails nicely with the stringent requirements of coronavirus quarantine, but even so, the company has instituted strict new health and safety protocols: the six-passenger Virgin Galactic spaceplane will be assembled in a "clean room" where neither viruses nor a speck of dust can breed. The six-passenger Virgin Galactic spaceplane is assembled and equipped in a "clean room" where no virus or speck of dust can thrive. Passengers wear Star Trek-like protective gear (a collaboration with Under Armour that includes a helmet, gloves, and booties), and the two rows of swivel seats are spaced apart for the best view.

About 700 orbital tourists paid a $50,000 deposit to board (about 600 of them paid in full). And until just 10 seconds before launch, Claire Perry, 35, director of the Virgin Galactic Astronaut Office, will keep this elite club of intergalactic lovers informed and connected. For the world's first space travelers, Perry enables social communication and plans special events." These people are united not only by their love of space and the possibilities of space travel, she says, but also by their "shared pioneering spirit to be the first astronauts. "Although physically separated by COVID-19, through Perry's private network, expectant Perry's private network of excited passengers shares the excitement.

Perry came to Virgin from a management consulting job at Deloitte and a job helping design, engineer, and manufacture the torch for the London Organizing Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Although she is not an astronaut, she feels obligated to share her love of space with young women and to help recruit women with the right qualifications. Working with initiatives like Unite, a nonprofit service of Virgin Galactic inspired by Apollo 11, Perry helps send future female astronauts (i.e., VG tourists) to speak at schools and local youth events. She says, "Our future female astronauts probably didn't have role models when they were young. They are phenomenal women who have fought against often adverse odds and expectations to book a flight into space, and I want to share their stories. I passionately believe in the role that future female astronauts will play once they fly into space. They will have a platform and people will want to meet them and hear their stories."

Thanks to a free interactive augmented reality (AR) app, even those without money can experience life on board. For the fully booked astronaut candidates, almost everything they see and do before and during the flight is the responsibility of Chief Astronaut Instructor and Chief of Cabin Technology Beth Moses. From training to spacesuits to seats that observe the curvature of the Earth, the former NASA assembly manager for the International Space Station (responsible for the design and development of the spacewalking mechanism) brings a wealth of experience in testing under extreme conditions such as weightlessness and high G Despite all the dry runs, Moses was amazed by VG's test flight and first moments in actual space. She became the first female commercial space traveler and the first human being on a suborbital mission to break her restraints on board and float free on the same flight.

Moses can't wait for her passengers to experience the same feeling. 'There's a moment during the flight,' she says, 'when the rocket boosters come on and you experience maximum G for a couple of breaths when you realize you're heading into space. It's never uncomfortable or painful. It's a roller coaster ride at its best."

Moses was awarded her astronaut wings by the FAA after her test flight, which she calls the most important asset that changed her life. For the first year, he said, he either kept the wings on all the time or kept them next to his bedside table when he went to bed at night. Apogee, she says, is "in some ways the high point of this journey.