The Matter

Connecting the American Underground to Outer Space, this blog will address environmental politics, historic scientific advancements, issues of social justice, and more!

News

There have been three Black female astronauts that have made it to space, and knowing that I’m going to be the fourth means that I have this opportunity to not only accomplish my dream, but also inspire the next generation of women of color and girls of color and really get them to think about reaching for the stars and what that means.”

Sian “Leo” Proctor, first Black female spacecraft pilot

As you may have heard, SpaceX completed their first all-civilian orbital mission a few days ago and the world smiled. The purpose of the mission was to raise money for cancer research at St. Jude’s, and to inspire future operations, hence the name Inspiration4. Proctor, along with tech billionaire and commander Jared Isaacman, chief medical officer Hayley Arcenaux and data engineer Chris Sembroski, got the chance to show the world an example of what is possible with space travel. Proctor broke an altitude record shortly after completing the second phase of their orbit, reaching 585 km when SpaceX mission control planned for 575 km.

Arcenaux, a physician’s assistant at St. Jude’s and a bone cancer survivor herself was given a stuffed golden retriever resembling the therapy dogs at the hospital to use both as comfort and as a zero-gravity indicator, showing the younger patients over a video call later that there is always hope for them. For the crew of this mission to have spent over 30 sunrises and sunsets together, met Tom Cruise, rang the bell for the New York Stock Exchange, and studied intense biological data to see how space affects the human body in the span of three days, a significant amount of resources and funding from St. Jude’s and Commander Isaacman’s company Shift4Payments had to go into this project. Proctor, now the “oldest” Black woman to go to space at 51 years old, as well as an artist and a geoscientist of almost 30 years, wanted the world to know what it really meant to her to be in that position:

“Growing up as a Black female and always trying to be a high achiever and not mess up, just having that pressure on yourself of thinking about not wanting to be eliminated, not wanting to miss out, gotta make sure you’re the best of the best, because you’re opening up the door for the people who follow you. A lot of times, you know, if you’re in a position of a role model, if you slip or you mess up, then it means that you’re kind of shutting the door for those behind you.”

Proctor, among many Black creatives and professionals, ascribe to an acronym called JEDI, which stands for just, equitable, diverse and inclusive, describing the optimal version of the world we want to live in and the world we have a hand in shaping for ourselves if we can all come together. With this historic moment, Proctor has solidified herself as a pilot of the future. (Written by Greg Shell, Jr., 9/17/21)