Sian Hayley "Leo" Proctor (born March 28, 1970) is an American
commercial astronaut
A commercial astronaut is a person who has commanded, piloted, or served as an active crew member of a privately funded spacecraft. This is distinct from an otherwise non-government astronaut, for example Charlie Walker, who flies while represe ...
, geology professor, and
science communicator
Science communication is the practice of informing, educating, raising awareness of science-related topics, and increasing the sense of wonder about scientific discoveries and arguments. Science communicators and audiences are ambiguously def ...
. On September 15, 2021, she was launched into Earth's orbit as the pilot of the
Crew Dragon
Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, primarily for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX has also launched private missions such as Ins ...
space capsule
A space capsule is an often-crewed spacecraft that uses a blunt-body reentry capsule to reenter the Earth's atmosphere without wings. Capsules are distinguished from other satellites primarily by the ability to survive reentry and return a payl ...
. This mission was the
Inspiration4 private orbital spaceflight.
As the pilot on this mission, Proctor became the first
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
woman to pilot a spacecraft. She was also the education outreach officer for the first
''Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Mission''. Proctor is a
geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...
professor at
South Mountain Community College
South Mountain Community College is a public community college in Phoenix, Arizona. It is one of the ten colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District.
History
South Mountain Community College was established by the governing boa ...
in Phoenix.
She is also a Major in the
Civil Air Patrol
Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is a congressionally chartered, federally supported non-profit corporation that serves as the official civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). CAP is a volunteer organization with an aviation-minded mem ...
where she serves as the aerospace education officer for its Arizona Wing.
Early life and education
Proctor was born in
Hagåtña, Guam
Hagåtña (; ; formerly in English: Agana , in Spanish: Agaña) is the capital village of the United States territory of Guam. From the 18th through mid-20th century, it was Guam's population center, but today it is the second smallest of the ...
on March 28, 1970, to a
Sperry Univac
UNIVAC (Universal Automatic Computer) was a line of electronic digital stored-program computers starting with the products of the Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation. Later the name was applied to a division of the Remington Rand company and ...
engineer who was working for NASA at the
Guam Remote Ground Terminal during the
Apollo
Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
era. After the Moon landings, Proctor's family moved to Minnesota and later to various Northeastern states while her father changed jobs.
Her family moved to
Fairport, New York
Fairport is a village located in the Town of Perinton, which is part of Monroe County, New York, United States. Fairport is a suburb east of Rochester. It is also known as the "Crown Jewel of the Erie Canal". In 2005, it was named as one of t ...
, when she was 14 where she later graduated from
Fairport High School. Proctor studied at
Arizona State University, where she received an
MS degree in
Geology
Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ea ...
in 1998 and later a
PhD in
Science education
Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), som ...
in 2006.
Space career
2009 NASA Astronaut Selection
Proctor was a finalist for the
2009 NASA Astronaut Selection Process. She competed against over 3,500 applicants and was chosen as one of 47 finalists. During the final round, Proctor was not one of the nine astronaut candidates selected for the 2009 NASA Astronaut Group. She is an international speaker and has given several
TEDx talks.
Inspiration4 commercial astronaut
Proctor was selected as the pilot of the
Crew Dragon
Dragon 2 is a class of partially reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by American aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, primarily for flights to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX has also launched private missions such as Ins ...
mission
Inspiration4,
which launched on September 15 2021. She was joined by
Jared Isaacman,
Hayley Arceneaux
Hayley Arceneaux (born December 4, 1991) is a St. Jude Children's Research Hospital physician assistant and commercial astronaut. She joined billionaire Jared Isaacman on SpaceX's first private spaceflight Inspiration4, which launched on Septemb ...
, and
Chris Sembroski, for the first all-civilian human spaceflight mission. Proctor was selected for the "Prosperity" seat, given to the winner of an entrepreneur competition.
Proctor received the call sign "Leo" during flight training.
She is featured on the cover of a ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'' magazine double issue with the rest of the crew of Inspiration4 in August 2021.
She is a member of the
Association of Space Explorers
The Association of Space Explorers is a non-profit organization with a membership composed of people who have completed at least one Earth orbit in space (above , as defined by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale. It was founded in 1985, ...
.
She is selected as a member of the
National Space Council
The National Space Council is a body within the Executive Office of the President of the United States created in 1989 during the George H. W. Bush administration, disbanded in 1993, and reestablished in June 2017 by the Donald Trump administrat ...
’s Users Advisory Group in December 2022.
Science education outreach
HI-SEAS (2013)
Proctor was the education outreach officer for the
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
-funded
Hawai’i Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) mission. The purpose of the mission was to investigate food strategies for long duration spaceflight and missions to the Moon or Mars. During the four-month simulation, Proctor was hired by
Discover Magazine
''Discover'' is an American general audience science magazine launched in October 1980 by Time Inc. It has been owned by Kalmbach Publishing since 2010.
History
Founding
''Discover'' was created primarily through the efforts of ''Time'' m ...
as the photographer for Kate Greene's article ''Simulating Mars on Earth''. She also filmed the ''Meals for Mars'' YouTube series while in the Mars simulation.
PolarTREC (2014)
Proctor was selected as the 2014
PolarTREC ''PolarTREC'' (Teachers and Researchers Exploring and Collaborating) is a program for K-12 teachers to participate in field research in the polar regions in order to improve their knowledge of polar science and expand the reach of current scientific ...
teacher. PolarTREC is a
National Science Foundation (NSF) funded program that connects teachers with scientists conducting research in the arctic and Antarctic regions. Proctor spent a month in
Barrow, Alaska learning Historical Ecology for Risk Management and investigating the
impact of climate change on the coastline and community.
Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassadors Program (ACEAP) (2016)
Proctor was selected as a 2016 ACEAP Ambassador. The ACEAP is a
National Science Foundation (NSF) program that sends
K–16
K–16 is a movement in the United States to bring together the various levels of education for younger students, namely between the K–12 and the post-secondary education systems, and create aligned policy and practice in examination practices, ...
formal and informal astronomy educators to US astronomy facilities in Chile. During the summer of 2016, she joined eight other ambassadors as they visited
Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO),
Gemini South Observatory, and the
Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array (ALMA). Proctor returned to San Pedro, Chile in 2017 to engage in STEM education outreach activities with the local high school and surrounding community.
NOAA Teacher At Sea (2017)
Proctor was selected for the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
(NOAA) Teacher At Sea program in 2017. The program was started in 1990 and provides teachers with research experience working at sea. For three weeks she conducted
pollock
Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. '' Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as pollock in North America, Ireland and the United Kingd ...
research in Bering Sea on the fisheries vessel the ''
Oscar Dyson'' and blogged about her experience for NOAA.
Television appearances
Proctor appears in Season 2 of
The Colony, which has ten episodes and was filmed on location in New Orleans. In 2016, Proctor appears in Episode 2: Are We Alone of ''
Genius by Stephen Hawking
''Genius by Stephen Hawking'' is a television series aired on PBS hosted by Stephen Hawking. It premiered on May 18, 2016, and ended on June 1, 2016, with only one season being produced before Hawking's death in 2018.
Premise
''Genius by Stephen ...
'' Since 2017 she has been the science demonstrator on the
Science Channel
Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, man ...
show ''Strange Evidence''.
Awards and honors
* 2022 honorary
Doctor of Humane Letters
The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (; DHumLitt; DHL; or LHD) is an honorary degree awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society.
The criteria for awarding the degree differ ...
from
University of Massachusetts Lowell
The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public ...
References
External links
*
*
Sian Proctor's South Mountain Community College Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Proctor, Sian
Living people
Arizona State University alumni
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania alumni
African-American women scientists
American geologists
HI-SEAS
American women scientists
1970 births
Spaceflight participants
Women astronauts
Women space scientists
SpaceX astronauts
American astronauts
Inspiration4