Rosie the Riveter being honored with unique trip to space
LEVITTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Mae Krier of Levittown, a real-life Rosie the Riveter, recently received the surprise of a lifetime via Zoom from Boeing CEO David Calhoun.
Calhoun announced the aeronautical company will soon launch a flight into space in honor of all Rosie the Riveters, the millions of women who joined the workforce to help during World War II.
Boeing is sending Rosie the Rocketeer, a robot in a capsule, to the International Space Station.
"To imagine we've got a bandana in space is unbelievable," Krier said.
Action News recently spoke with Krier when she was turning the iconic Rosie the Riveter pattern into masks during the pandemic. Krier is a North Dakota native who became a Rosie when she was 17 years old. That summer in Seattle, she joined Boeing and began working on the aircraft.
SEE ALSO: The important role of 'Rosie the Riveter' during WWII
Krier is proving women can do anything. She takes pride in building the Boeing B-17. She was also instrumental in getting the Rosie the Riveter Congressional Gold Medal Act passed in 2019.
While she is excited about Rosie the Rocketeer, Krier has another big wish.
"I've got one last thing to do before I meet my maker and that is I'd love to see a Rosie statute in our World War II Memorial in Washington. And they tell me that's hard to do, and I say, 'It wasn't easy getting our mask into space either,'" Krier said.
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner space taxi with Rosie the Rocketeer was moved to its Florida launch complex in preparation for next month's uncrewed test mission to the International Space Station.
