A recent Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) Celebrate! Innovation Live keynote speaker has been selected to go into orbit on SpaceX. Fifty-one-year-old Dr. Sian Proctor is a community college professor from Tempe, Ariz. and will be one of the four civilians and the first non-professional astronaut to take a three-day rocket ride on SpaceX as it circles the earth. The anticipated launch date is in October and Proctor will be joined by: 38-year-old billionaire, Jared Isaacman; former patient at St. Jude’s Hospital and youngest American to ever go into space, 29-year-old Hayley Arceneaux; and 41-year-old Lockheed Martin data engineer, Christopher Sembroski. During her recent DMACC keynote address, Proctor said her goal was to inspire others. “That’s my super power—harnessing my unique, one-of-a-kind space to inspire those within my reach and beyond,” Proctor said. “You have the power to make a positive difference in the world and to create a just, equitable, diverse and inclusive space for humanity just by using your unique space.” Dr. Proctor, a geoscientist, analog artist and space artist, holds a doctorate in science education. She has completed four analog astronaut missions, which she discussed during her ciLive! presentation. She was selected for the SpaceX launch by winning a contest sponsored by Isaacman’s company, Shift4 Payments.
