Puerto Rican Woman Deborah Martorell Will Become the First Meteorologist in Space

Puerto Rican Woman Deborah Martorell Will Become the First Meteorologist in Space
Credit: Instagram/@DeborahMartorell

Deborah Martorell has spent decades studying the skies from the ground. Next summer, she will study them from space.

The Puerto Rican meteorologist will become the first in her field to leave Earth’s atmosphere, joining the astronaut crew of Blue Origin’s NS31 mission. The launch, scheduled for the summer of 2025, will also carry the first all-women team to space aboard the private aerospace company’s vehicle.

She announced the news standing in the West Texas desert, where the team gathered near Blue Origin’s launch site in Van Horn. “Today I share the biggest news of my life. I am going to space,” she wrote. “A dream that began in my childhood and that will soon become reality. I have so much to thank God for. Words are not enough. Dreams can come true. Puerto Rico, this is for you.”

A New Stage for a Familiar Voice

Martorell has long been a trusted presence in Puerto Rican media. As chief meteorologist and science reporter for TeleOnce and Uno Radio Group, she has spent over 30 years tracking hurricanes, interpreting satellite data, and making complex weather patterns understandable to her viewers.

Her work has extended into the world of science reporting, covering stories that include the launch of Puerto Rico’s first nanosatellite and documenting the careers of astronauts Joseph Acabá and Marcos Berríos. It was a role rooted in precision, but also in wonder. That same wonder has now taken her to the edge of spaceflight.

After completing her training with the Project PoSSUM Scientist-Astronaut program at Florida Tech’s International Institute for Astronautical Sciences, Martorell was selected to fly with Blue Origin. “I want to thank God for the opportunities He has placed in my path which have led me on this route to space,” she said. “I also want to thank Blue Origin for giving me this historic opportunity.”

Deborah Martorell Is Carrying an Island

Her selection carries significance far beyond the personal. “This is a great responsibility and I never lose sight of the fact that I carry with me the dreams of thousands of Puerto Rican boys and girls who, like me, dream of becoming astronauts,” she said. She also acknowledged Aymette Medina, another Puerto Rican woman whose parallel path in education brings shared pride to the island. “It will be a big year for Puerto Rico, which will be able to say it has a teacher and a meteorologist going to space.”

Martorell plans to bring more than her own story aboard the mission. She will carry a scientific experiment and a gravity indicator created by students from Dr. Carlos González High School in Aguada. “The flight is scheduled for the summer of 2025 and I will be taking with me an experiment that I will announce soon and a gravity indicator that will be designed by students from the Technology Club,” she said.

She has also pledged to involve the nonprofit organizations she has worked with throughout her career. “I want to make sure that the nonprofit organizations I always collaborate with have some kind of participation in this journey so that together we can plant seeds for the future of our Island.”

Martorell’s path to the launchpad has never followed spectacle. She has moved through her career with discipline, leading quietly with accuracy, and never abandoning curiosity. Now she prepares for a new perspective, carrying with her not only the instruments of her trade but the aspirations of an island that has watched her trace the skies. Soon, she will rise into them.

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