Dr. Sian Proctor made history after she completed a three-day trip into space last month.
Proctor went to space on September 15 as a member of the Inspiration4 mission and piloted the space capsule, as reported by Ms. Magazine. She was the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft and the fourth Black American woman to travel to space.
“There have been so few of us who’ve even gone to space,” Proctor explained to National Geographic. “I just think, wow, how do we broaden access and inspire others so that more will follow?”
Proctor spent three days orbiting the Earth in the Crew Dragon capsule. The craft features a cupola, a large domed window that gave the crew a 360-degree view of Earth.
This once-in-a-lifetime view of our planet is Proctor’s favorite memory.
“Oh my goodness, opening the cupola and sliding my head up there and then seeing the entire sphere of our beautiful planet,” she told NPR. “Because I went up not only just as a scientist but also as an artist and poet, to me, the Earth became this kind of living painting — this moving, swirling ball. I just couldn’t get enough.”
The trip ended when the capsule made a safe landing in the Atlantic Ocean on September 18.
Proctor dreamed of going to space for a while. In 2009, she applied for NASA’s astronaut program and made it to the final round before being ultimately rejected. Four years later, she spent four months working as an analog astronaut in a simulated Mars environment. She has a Ph.D., pilot’s license and SCUBA certification.
At 50 years old, Proctor proves there is no age limit on achieving your dreams.
“Being a female in my 50s, there were times I felt the best years of my life had passed me by,” she said. “But the dreams of your childhood, the goals you maybe weren’t able to achieve as a young adult. … They can absolutely still be realized.”
The trip helped raise $200 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
