TEMPE, AZ — Dr. Sian Proctor is living her childhood dream of being an astronaut.
“That always kind of like catches me. It’s great to be able to say that because it was a childhood dream that became a reality,” Dr. Proctor explained.
In 2021, Dr. Proctor became a member of the first all-civilian spaceflight to orbit Earth aboard Space X’s Inspiration 4.
“There was nothing better than floating. Everybody should be able to float sometime in their lifetime,” Proctor said with a giggle. “And it’s also the best experience to experience the Earth’s light.”
Even better, she broke barriers becoming the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft.
“It was amazing in the sense that you dream of the kid in me, maybe I'll be a first for something, but then the reality of that is not going to happen,” according to the Maricopa Community College professor. “However, it also comes with a lot of responsibility because you can't mess it up, you’re opening the door, you're trying to inspire the next generation. Unfortunately, a lot of times when you're a person of color, if you don't do it 100%, if you're not the best of the best, then people can find fault in that. Then they will say 'see you know, we shouldn't have gone with her.'”
That "be the best" attitude comes from her father, Edward Proctor, who worked for NASA with no formal education. He also worked on the Apollo 11 mission when Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon.
“He never told me I couldn't do it. The fact that both of my parents grew up in segregation and neither of them had college degrees, so the idea of education was important to my dad. He saw it as an opportunity," said Dr. Proctor.
To celebrate Black History Month, Arizona State University is honoring Dr. Proctor, who is an alumnus, during its Space 2 Inspire event where they will unveil her AfroBotica Artwork. However, instead of only focusing on herself, she made it her mission to celebrate another ASU alumni, Ed Dwight, the first Black astronaut candidate.
“We have moments to celebrate history and things that didn't go the way that we would have liked them to go. Ed had an opportunity to be the first black astronaut and it was taken away,” said Dr. Proctor. “Now I want history to know who he is.”
For more events from ASU celebrating Black History Month, click here.
