Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

SpaceX: Who are the civilians on the Inspiration4 mission?

SpaceX: Who are the civilians on the Inspiration4 mission?

SpaceX launched a motley crew of amateur astronauts into space on Wednesday in the first ever all-civilian orbital mission.

The crew of four civilians includes a high-school dropout for a commander, a medical officer who survived cancer as a child, an artist and college professor, and a man who won his seat through a charity donation.

Here's who they are, what their background is, and how they got their seats on what is set to be one of the most significant space tourism flights of all time.

Commander and Benefactor: Jared Isaacman
Jared Isaacman.


Jared Isaacman, 38, is the driving force behind this adventure, having struck a private deal with SpaceX.
Advertisement

The terms of that deal haven't been disclosed, but Mr Isaacman is using the trip to raise $200m (£146m) for St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee - with half coming from his own pockets - and said the anticipated donation to St Jude's "vastly exceeds the cost of the mission".

A high school drop-out, Mr Isaacman is the founder and chief executive of Shift4 Payments, a payment processing company which he started as a 16-year-old in 1999.

Reportedly a billionaire and a keen pilot, he set a speed record flying around the world in 2009 while raising money for the Make-A-Wish programme, and later established Draken International, the world's largest private fleet of fighter jets.

He said: "I truly want us to live in a world 50 or 100 years from now where people are jumping in their rockets like the Jetsons and there are families bouncing around on the moon with their kid in a spacesuit.

"I also think if we are going to live in that world, we better conquer childhood cancer along the way."

Chief medical officer and Hope seat: Hayley Arceneaux
Hayley Arceneaux was diagnosed with bone cancer as a child.


When Hayley Arceneaux was just 10 years old, she was diagnosed with bone cancer. She received treatment at the St Jude Children's Research Hospital, including chemotherapy and a limb-saving surgery.

This surgery involved replacing her knee and placing a titanium rod in her left femur.

Now, as a healthy adult, Ms Arceneaux works at the hospital - which she credits with saving her life - as a physician assistant for patients with leukaemia and lymphoma.

She was selected for the mission by Mr Isaacman, who said he couldn't think of a better brand ambassador to represent St Jude and the spirit of hope on his mission.

"It's an incredible honour to be a part of this mission that is not only raising crucial funds for the lifesaving work of St. Jude, but also introducing new supporters to the cause and showing cancer survivors that anything is possible," she said.

Generosity seat: Chris Sembroski
Chris Sembroski.


Chris Sembroski won his seat on the mission courtesy of a friend who donated to St Jude in July.

He's an employee of Lockheed Martin and a veteran of the US Air Force, where he helped maintain a fleet of the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles and deployed in Iraq.

He is described as having long held an interest in space exploration, and after leaving the Air Force studied professional aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where he met the unidentified friend who gave him his seat.

"Joining the Inspiration4 crew and its mission of support for St Jude is truly a dream come true. It is my hope that this flight will inspire others to pay that generosity forward by pledging their support for St Jude and encouraging kids to dream the impossible, ushering in a new era of space exploration open to all," he said.

Prosperity seat: Dr Sian Proctor
Dr Sian Proctor.


Dr Sian Proctor was previously a finalist for the 2009 astronaut programme at NASA, has a pilot license, and works as a professor of geoscience at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona.

She was born in Guam to a father who worked for NASA at a tracking station there during the Apollo missions, and has conducted a series of simulated space missions at the Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation (HI-SEAS) Habitat.

She won her seat as a customer of Mr Isaacman's Shift4 Payments, as part of a plan to select someone "who utilises the new Shift4Shop eCommerce platform, which empowers entrepreneurs to build and grow successful eCommerce businesses online".

Dr Proctor has given a TEDx talk called Eat Like a Martian and previously published the Meals for Mars Cookbook, following her NASA-funded HI-SEAS mission on food strategies for long-term space travel.

As an artist, she tries to encourage conversations about creating a JEDI Space, or a space environment that is Just, Equitable, Diverse and Inclusive.

She said: "I am thrilled to part of the historic Inspiration4 crew and to represent the Prosperity seat. Going to space has always been a dream of mine, and being able to inspire the world through art and poetry makes it even more special for me."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×