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SpaceX’s all-civilian crew from Inspiration4 spoke of their “impressive” trip to orbit last week in an exclusive interview on Monday TODAY, two days after returning to Earth.
Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroski made history as the first crew to orbit the Earth without a professional astronaut on board.
They told NBC Nightly News presenter Lester Holt about the orbiting rocket aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule, which reached an altitude of 363 miles and gave them a breathtaking view of Earth through a giant window. at the top of the capsule.
“This last sight of Earth in the dome made me touched, because it was so impressive, and I knew I would think about it for the rest of my life,” Arceneaux said.
“Our name is Inspiration,” said Proctor. “Being able to capture that sight and bring it back to Earth is special. ”
Isaacman, 38, a billionaire entrepreneur and accomplished pilot, was the mission commander, with Proctor, 51, making history as the first black woman to serve as a spaceship pilot.
Arceneaux, 29, a medical assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, became the youngest American to ever travel to space and the first with a prosthesis. She had part of her femur removed when she was treated for bone cancer at the age of 10 in St. Jude and has now returned there to help other children with cancer.
“It’s hard for me to understand because I consider myself an ordinary person, but I hope people can relate to me,” she said.
The crew trained for six months before taking off on September 15 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They returned to Earth in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida three days later.
“Each of us has been changed in ways we might not have expected,” said Sembroski, who is an Air Force veteran and data engineer. “And for me, it was being able to see Earth in a way that made me realize that there is so much to see in person that I have to go find these places and explore more.”
Proctor, scientist and artist, made his life’s dream come true after being a finalist to become an astronaut for NASA.
“Being able to talk to girls of color and women of color from my experience, and even older women who sometimes when you think the best part of your life has passed you as you get older, there’s still a lot to learn, a lot to explore, a lot to do, ”she said.
Isaacman hopes the mission shows that space travel can be a dream for more than just professional astronauts.
“So I think I have organizations like SpaceX that are working really hard to reduce the cost of spaceflight, to make it more accessible to others so that we can all go out and travel among the stars,” he said.
The trip doubled as a massive fundraiser for St. Jude, with Isaacman himself donating $ 100 million as part of a goal to raise $ 200 million for the hospital.
Arceneaux hopes that its participation in the historic mission can inspire children treated for pediatric cancer and others facing difficulties in life.
“I have had a few difficulties in life, but I think everyone has them in one way or another,” she said. “I think everyone has had to overcome something, and I just hope people can look at my story and know that keeping hope, that there will be better days, is so important.”
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