FOLLOW US

USA Herald April 12, 2021 6 mins read

SpaceX all-civilian Inspiration4 crew In-Training for September 2021 mission

USA Herald ı By Jackie Allen

0 Comments

inspiration4 crew

The SpaceX all-civilian crew of the Inspiration4 traveled to the Kennedy Space Center Complex last week. This is where the Falcon 9 will launch them into space aboard a Dragon spacecraft this September.

The crew is just beginning to prepare for their adventure in space. They began their training at Kennedy last week!

According to the mission website, the crew will "receive commercial astronaut training by SpaceX on the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft, orbital mechanics, operating in microgravity, zero gravity, and other forms of stress testing."

"They will go through emergency preparedness training, spacesuit and spacecraft ingress and egress exercises, as well as partial and full mission simulations," according to SpaceX's website.

The 4-person all-civilian crew will launch in September 2021. Each of the four crew members will represent Leadership, Hope, Generosity, and Prosperity.

Leadership

Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, 38, looks forward to the first private flight from Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Isaacman is the CEO and founder of Shift4 Payments, a Pennsylvania-based payment processor company. 

Isaacman is sponsoring the mission. His payment for the ticket was a $100 million donation to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Which he says "vastly exceeds the cost of the mission." 

"I truly want us to live in a world 50 or 100 years from now where people are jumping in their rockets, like the Jetsons and there are families bouncing around on the moon with their kid in a spacesuit," Isaacman said in an interview with AP.

And he also purchased an ad that appeared in February’s Super Bowl which helped to fill the remaining seats on the mission.

"We're pushing boundaries in a number of areas," Isaacman, told PEOPLE in an interview.

"We're going farther than the space station as part of the mission, and we're bringing along people like Hayley, who will have the first prosthesis in space."

Hope

Hayley Arceneaux is a 29-year-old physician assistant at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. She was the first Inspiration4 crew member chosen. On January 5th Isaacman asked her to serve the mission as a chief medical officer. And she represents Hope. 

Arceneaux is a bone cancer survivor treated at St. Jude’s. At the age of 10, Arceneaux’s femur was partially removed and replaced with a rod. Her orthopedic surgeon assured her that, "There's going to be no limits on you in space." 

The Louisiana native says she is thrilled to be representing what she believes will be a “sea change in space travel.”

"The one thing that I'm most excited about this mission is that I'm going up with a big rod in my leg," she said in a PEOPLE interview. "I could have never been an astronaut until this mission because I would have had to have been physically perfect, and I don't fit into that category. I love that this mission is changing that."

"When I learned I was going to fill the Hope seat, I just felt like it was coming full circle because hope has been the word I've always held on to, ever since I was in treatment." 

She hopes to video call kids with cancer from space. "It is a responsibility, in every way, to represent hope. I want this mission to show kids going through cancer, for survivors, to dream big, and that the sky's not even the limit."

Christopher Sembroski and Dr. Sian Proctor won the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join the Inspiration4 mission. Anyone that made a donation to St Jude in February was entered into a lottery for a seat on the mission.

Generosity

Chris Sembroski 41, a Lockheed Martin employee and Air Force veteran, will be acting as a mission specialist. Sembroski, the father of two children is based in Seattle He explains to  PEOPLE that he obtained his spot on the crew when a friend who won the sweepstakes was unable to go.

The data engineer is a "self-declared space nerd" that has always been in love with outer space since his childhood. He spent years stargazing from the roof of his high school. And was launching high-powered model rockets during his time in college. 

Sembroski worked as a U.S. Space Camp counselor. While in college, he was involved with  ProSpace, a "grassroots lobbying effort that promoted legislation in Washington, D.C. to help open space travel and allow companies like SpaceX to exist," explains a recent press release.

"For this crew to not be professional astronauts, to have us all be completely civilians, and to take this mission into space, it's a huge symbol of opening up the space frontier to everyone and making that dream come true for so many more people," he says. "It really makes it feel like it's attainable."

Isaacson says that Sembroski stands for the mission pillar of generosity.

Prosperity

Born in Guam, Dr. Sian Proctor, 51, who works for the Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) won a seat on the Inspiration4 mission. Besides being an educator, Dr. Proctor is a geoscientist, a trained pilot, and a well-known part of the space exploration community.

“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.”

Dr. Sian Proctor is based in Tempe, Arizona, and works as the Open Educational Resource Coordinator for the MCCCD. Proctor was a finalist in the NASA astronaut selection process in 2009, and who also has her pilot license and a SCUBA certification — says she's most looking forward to seeing earth from space.

Her father worked at the NASA tracking station for the Apollo Program (1963-1972). She says going to space has been the dream of her life.

Proctor represents the mission pillar of prosperity.

"Hard work and perseverance can lead to these impossible dreams possible," she tells PEOPLE in an interview. "This is an experience that I've dreamt about and now I'm actually getting to experience it."

"That is absolutely the golden ticket moment," Proctor says. "But I'm also thinking about being a teacher in space, and how I can share that message, and as an artist — to be able to draw and paint and write poetry and share the experience in that realm, too."

The Dragon will travel at speeds over 17,000 miles per hour in low-Earth orbit 335 miles above the Earth. The mission will last for three days. Then the Dragon will touch down off the coast of Florida to be picked up by a SpaceX retrieval team.

Musk said during a press conference in February that the Inspiration4 mission is "an important milestone toward enabling access to space for everyone."

 

Previous Article

Superman Action Comics #1 sells for record-breaking $3.25 million

Read More
3368 Posts

Jackie Allen

Jackie is a freelance journalist and technology geek. She worked as a telecom project director for AT&T and BellSouth. Before joining the USA Herald she has written books, articles, blogs and whitepapers. Her clients include Samsung and other technology companies.

Discussion

No comments yet. Be the first to join the discussion!

Don’t Miss It
America October 3, 2026
California Sends Cease and Desist Letter…

What Matters in This Fight California regulators have reportedly ordered…

By – Samuel Lopez
America October 3, 2026
Tennessee Prison Chief Resigns After Christa…

What the Failed Execution Changes Frank Strada will step down…

By – Samuel Lopez
America October 3, 2026
Costco Faces $5 Million Sugar-Free Lawsuit…

By Samuel López | USA Herald Costco Wholesale Corporation is…

By – Samuel Lopez
America October 3, 2026
Amazon Faces Potential 30 Million-Reader Antitrust…

What Kindle Buyers Need to Know More than 30 million…

By – Samuel Lopez
America October 3, 2026
Firerose Claims She Was Kept a…

Firerose is speaking publicly about her turbulent marriage to country…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 3, 2026
Missing Children: Long Island Operation Rescues…

Missing children were at the center of a major three-day…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 3, 2026
Missing Children: Long Island Operation Rescues…

Missing children were at the center of a major three-day…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 3, 2026
Boston-Bound Air Ambulance Disappears With 6-Souls…

What We Know About the Missing Flight A Canadian-operated Gulfstream…

By – Samuel Lopez
America October 3, 2026
California Woman Charged After Video Allegedly…

What the Blackey Case Shows Prosecutors say Hanh Minh Nguyen…

By – Samuel Lopez
America October 3, 2026
Diesel Crisis: G7 Deal Leaves Questions…

WASHINGTON — The G7’s response to the diesel crisis includes…

By – Michallie Harrison
America October 3, 2026
Scientists Predicted November, Friday the 13th…

What the 1960 ‘Doomsday’ Prediction Actually Means The November 13,…

By – Samuel Lopez
America October 3, 2026
Tony Buzbee Must Face $25 Million…

What Matters in the Court Fight A federal judge refused…

By – Samuel Lopez
America October 2, 2026
Molestation Allegations Rock Kern County Political…

Molestation allegations involving former Kern County Supervisor Zack Scrivner have…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 2, 2026
Rioters in France: School Protests Escalate…

Rioters in France escalated a growing wave of student demonstrations…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 2, 2026
SNAP Cost Shift Sends a Bigger…

WASHINGTON — A SNAP cost shift took effect Thursday, requiring…

By – Michallie Harrison
America October 2, 2026
Operation Epic Fury: Trump Warns Iran…

Operation Epic Fury remains central to the Trump administration’s account…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 2, 2026
Killed by in-laws: New York Times…

Jonathan McKinsey, 40, was killed by his elderly in-laws. They…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 1, 2026
Government Spending: Trump Administration Moves to…

 The Trump administration is moving to cancel nearly $1 billion…

By – Jackie Allen
Business October 3, 2026
China Launches Anti-Dumping Probe Into EU…

BEIJING — China has opened a new anti-dumping investigation into…

By – Derek Johnson
America October 2, 2026
Pentagon’s Project Meridian Gives Musk, Luckey…

Key Takeaways The Pentagon has commissioned Project Meridian, a 120-day effort…

By – Samuel Lopez
America October 2, 2026
Every Pentagon UAP File Drop Has…

Signals Ahead of Release 7 All six PURSUE UAP tranches…

By – Samuel Lopez
America October 2, 2026
G7’s Release of 100M Barrels of…

What Truckers and Consumers Need to Know The G7’s 100-million-barrel…

By – Samuel Lopez
America October 1, 2026
Government Spending: Trump Administration Moves to…

 The Trump administration is moving to cancel nearly $1 billion…

By – Jackie Allen
America October 1, 2026
JPMorgan Executive Renews Countersuit After Ex-Banker’s…

The “sex slave” allegations involving JPMorgan Chase executive Lorna Hajdini…

By – Jackie Allen
America September 30, 2026
Arnold Schwarzenegger Heads to Jury Trial…

What the Jury Will Decide Schwarzenegger has conceded negligence in…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 29, 2026
Trump Launches America.gov AI Portal That…

What Americans Need to Know gov is now an AI-powered…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 28, 2026
Pope Leo XIV Condemns France’s New…

What Readers Should Know Pope Leo XIV used his visit…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 27, 2026
Strangers Collected $30 Million In ‘Illegal…

What You Need to Know 1. George A. Neukom Jr.’s estate…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 26, 2026
Princess Diaries Star Heather Matarazzo Says…

WHY THIS MATTERS Heather Matarazzo just admitted something most working…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 24, 2026
California’s $11 Billion Undocumented Immigrant Benefits…

By Samuel López | USA Herald SACRAMENTO – California is…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 28, 2026
JJ McCarthy Trade Sends Former First-Rounder…

Two years ago, a franchise spent a top-10 pick on…

By – Tyler Brooks
America September 26, 2026
New York Sues Polymarket Claiming Prediction…

What This Fight Is Really About New York says Polymarket…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 24, 2026
New York Sues Polymarket Over Alleged…

What’s Riding on the Bet New York says Polymarket’s sports…

By – Samuel Lopez
America September 23, 2026
Roblox widow alleges $6 million scam,…

The Roblox widow says a former companion took $6 million…

By – Jackie Allen
America September 22, 2026
Network Traffic Challenges May be Reshaped…

Network traffic has traditionally moved in one dominant direction: from…

By – Jackie Allen
America September 21, 2026
Gilbert Goons Defendant Arrested Again for…

A Gilbert Goons defendant awaiting trial in the 2023 death…

By – Jackie Allen

No posts found.

No posts found.

Signup for the USA Herald
exclusive Newsletter