UMD Alumna Gayle King Breaks Barriers in Space

King disembarks from the capsule in Texas, kissing the ground shortly after.

"I can't even believe what I saw," King told People magazine after the capsule landed in the Texas desert, where she kissed the ground. "I'm so proud of me right now."

The co-host of “CBS Mornings” joined five other women, including pop star Katy Perry, for a 10-minute expedition past the Kármán line, a widely accepted boundary for entering space. They unstrapped and floated around the capsule for several minutes before returning to earth.

"It's oddly quiet when you get up there, it's really quiet and peaceful and you look down at the planet and you think, 'That's where we came from?'" King said.

Her sentiments echo those of Epps, who spoke to Maryland Today from the space station just two days after she arrived on board. “I’m still in awe of seeing the Earth … You can see it in pictures, you can even dream about those pictures, but there’s just something that happens when you see it with your own eyes.”

These journeys will inspire many more girls and women to follow in their footsteps to pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), said Paige Smith, director of the A. James Clark School of Engineering’s Women in Engineering (WIE) program, which works on recruitment and retention efforts through mentoring, technical workshops and internship support.

“What’s really exciting is Gayle King being part of the all-women space crew, showing that women can be up in space on their own, taking charge, taking the lead and doing something really cool that a lot of us have only dreamed about,” Smith said.

Excitement about entering the aerospace field is already growing; enrollment for UMD’s program is at its highest ever, and women make up more than 20% of the undergraduate aerospace engineering population, which is a record. They’re grateful that Epps has spoken to current and prospective Terps in person and aboard the ISS, and will be returning to UMD for Maryland Day to discuss her mission and career trajectory.

“Just being able to see that this is a possibility for them and to have these role models is very inspiring and uplifting,” said WIE Assistant Director Jen Kuntz. These highly publicized flights “make it a much more approachable major. A lot of students have interest in going to space or aeronautics, so to feel like they belong there is huge.”