Inspiration4 Mission Fills Final Two Slots
Inspiration4, the world’s first all-civilian mission to space, has announced the final two members of the four-person crew that will undertake a historic voyage to the stars later this year. Christopher Sembroski of Everett, WA (pictured, left) and Dr. Sian Proctor of Tempe, AZ (pictured, right) will join previously announced crew member Hayley Arceneaux under the command of Jared Isaacman. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket will launch the crew aboard a Dragon spacecraft later this year.
“This opportunity is proof that hard work and perseverance can pay off in unimaginable ways. I have always believed that I was preparing for something special, and that moment has arrived with Inspiration4.”
Dr. Sian Proctor.
Sembroski and Proctor will represent the mission pillars of:
Prosperity – Dr. Proctor, a 51-year-old entrepreneur, educator, trained pilot and active voice in the space exploration community, was awarded her seat by being selected as the top entrant of an independently judged online business competition that attracted approximately 200 entries and was conducted by the eCommerce platform Shift4Shop.
“This opportunity is proof that hard work and perseverance can pay off in unimaginable ways,” said Dr. Proctor. “I have always believed that I was preparing for something special, and that moment has arrived with Inspiration4.”
Proctor will serve as the Mission Pilot and back up the commander and support related needs throughout the mission.
Generosity – Sembroski, a 41-year-old aerospace industry employee at Lockheed Martin and United States Air Force veteran, contributed to a special fundraising campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital that offered an Inspiration4 mission seat to a lucky donor after receiving nearly 72,000 entries. Since it was first announced in February, the campaign has raised approximately $113M with new support opportunities to come in the near future, including chances to sign up at www.stjude.org/Inspiration4 and fundraise to qualify for Inspiration4-themed incentive items, special experiences, collectible merchandise, flight-related campaign information and more.
“Although I’ve been fortunate to have spent years in the aerospace industry, I never imagined having the opportunity to reach the stars, especially through something as simple as supporting St. Jude,” said Sembroski. “I am honored to occupy the Generosity seat and look forward to using this platform to encourage everyone to be generous to others in whatever ways they are able.”
Sembroski will serve as the Mission Specialist and will help manage payload, science experiments, communications to mission control and more.
Inspiration4 is completed by the other mission pillars of Leadership, represented by Isaacman, and Hope, represented by Arceneaux. Isaacman, the 38-year-old founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments and a world record-holding pilot, created the Inspiration4 mission and donated the three crew seats to inspire humanity and raise money for the lifesaving mission of St. Jude. Arceneaux is a 29-year-old physician assistant who works at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN and joined Inspiration4 last month. In addition to working at St. Jude, she was treated as a child for bone cancer at the preeminent care and research hospital and vowed to return to serve others. Arceneaux will serve as Medical Officer overseeing medical care and experiments on the mission.
“Inspiration4’s goal is to inspire humanity to support St. Jude here on earth while also seeing new possibilities for human spaceflight,” said Isaacman. “ Each of these outstanding crew members embodies the best of humanity, and I am humbled to lead them on this historic and purposeful mission and the adventure of a lifetime.”
The Inspiration4 mission is being targeted for no earlier than Sept. 15, 2021.
(Source: Inspiration4 news release. Images provided)