Sian Proctor

Sian Hayley "Leo" Proctor (born March 28, 1970) is an American commercial astronaut, geology professor, and science communicator. On September 15, 2021, she was launched into Earth's orbit as the pilot of the Crew Dragon space capsule. This mission was the Inspiration4 private orbital spaceflight. As the pilot on this mission, Proctor became the first African American 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 professor at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix. She is also a Major in the Civil Air Patrol where she serves as the aerospace education officer for its Arizona Wing.

Early life and education

Proctor was born in Hagåtña, Guam on March 28, 1970, to a Sperry Univac engineer who was working for NASA at the Guam Remote Ground Terminal during the Apollo 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, 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 in 1998 and later a PhD in Science education 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 mission Inspiration4, which launched on September 15 2021. She was joined by Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, 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'' magazine double issue with the rest of the crew of Inspiration4 in August 2021.

She is a member of the Association of Space Explorers.

She is selected as a member of the National Space Council’s Users Advisory Group in December 2022.

Science education outreach

HI-SEAS (2013)

Proctor was the education outreach officer for the NASA-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 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 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 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 (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 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'' Since 2017 she has been the science demonstrator on the Science Channel show ''Strange Evidence''.

Awards and honors

* 2022 honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from University of Massachusetts Lowell

References

External links

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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