Astronaut Kellie Gerardi Welcomes Baby No. 2 and Chooses a Name That’s Out-of-This-World!QT

The research astronaut shared the emotional moment she met her newborn after a years-long IVF journey

Kellie Gerardi is introducing her newest mission.

The research astronaut, 37, has welcomed her second baby with husband Steven Baumruk, sharing the news in real time after a years-long in vitro fertilization journey that she has openly documented.

On Sunday, April 5, Gerardi posted an emotional Instagram reel capturing the moment she held her newborn for the first time. In the video, she sobs as Baumruk stands beside her, while Taylor Swift’s “Out of the Woods” plays in the background.

“The past ~48 hours have been a blur of the best kind and yesterday was spent soaking in the fact that she’s really here,” Gerardi wrote. “I’m forever grateful we didn’t hit the brakes too soon on this IVF journey to complete our family.”

“I’m still in pain and am mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically exhausted to my core, and I’m so grateful for all of it,” she added, noting she had been reading “every single kind comment.”

One day later, she shared her daughter’s name. “Mission Success, and Space Baby has a name,” Gerardi wrote on Monday, April 6, alongside a photo of her newborn dressed in galactic-inspired clothing. “So grateful to officially introduce you to our sweet girl, Maxine Quinn 🚀⭐️ Welcome to the world, Max Q!”

Kellie Gerardi is introducing her newest mission.

The research astronaut, 37, has welcomed her second baby with husband Steven Baumruk, sharing the news in real time after a years-long in vitro fertilization journey that she has openly documented.

On Sunday, April 5, Gerardi posted an emotional Instagram reel capturing the moment she held her newborn for the first time. In the video, she sobs as Baumruk stands beside her, while Taylor Swift’s “Out of the Woods” plays in the background.

“The past ~48 hours have been a blur of the best kind and yesterday was spent soaking in the fact that she’s really here,” Gerardi wrote. “I’m forever grateful we didn’t hit the brakes too soon on this IVF journey to complete our family.”

“I’m still in pain and am mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically exhausted to my core, and I’m so grateful for all of it,” she added, noting she had been reading “every single kind comment.”

One day later, she shared her daughter’s name. “Mission Success, and Space Baby has a name,” Gerardi wrote on Monday, April 6, alongside a photo of her newborn dressed in galactic-inspired clothing. “So grateful to officially introduce you to our sweet girl, Maxine Quinn 🚀⭐️ Welcome to the world, Max Q!”

The nickname “Max Q” comes directly from the language of spaceflight. According to NASA, it refers to “maximum dynamic pressure,” the moment during a rocket’s ascent when it experiences the greatest physical stress as it moves through the atmosphere.

It’s a theme that runs in the family. Gerardi and Baumruk’s first daughter, Delta Victoria, born in 2017, also has a name tied to space science. According to Space Calcs, “delta-v” refers to the change in velocity needed for a spacecraft to carry out maneuvers such as entering orbit or escaping gravity.

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Gerardi has shared much of her path to this moment with her audience. Last year, she posted a TikTok documenting a pregnancy loss following an IVF cycle.

“This is not the update that I wanted to give,” she said at the time. “I was supposed to graduate from my IVF clinic today, but during that final ultrasound, there was no heartbeat.”

“I don’t have anything else to say. This is me un-announcing the pregnancy,” she added.