{"id":17575,"date":"2021-03-30T20:39:30","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T12:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/seattle-area-engineer-and-arizona-teacher-join-billionaires-crew-for-charity-space-trip\/"},"modified":"2021-03-30T20:39:30","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T12:39:30","slug":"seattle-area-engineer-and-arizona-teacher-join-billionaires-crew-for-charity-space-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/seattle-area-engineer-and-arizona-teacher-join-billionaires-crew-for-charity-space-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Seattle-area engineer and Arizona teacher join billionaire\u2019s crew for charity space trip"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Inspiration4
Lockheed Martin engineer Christopher Sembroski (far left) and planetary scientist Sian Proctor (third from left) will join physician assistant Hayley Arceneaux (second from left) and Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman (far right) on a SpaceX Dragon orbital flight. SpaceX\u2019s launch tower at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida is in the background. (SpaceX Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The crew is set for a philanthropic space flight that\u2019s being funded by a tech billionaire \u2014 and Christopher Sembroski, a Lockheed Martin engineer from Everett, Wash., can thank a college buddy for being part of it.<\/p>\n

Sembroski will take part in the Inspiration4 space adventure organized by Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman, by virtue of an online sweepstakes that attracted nearly 72,000 entries and raised millions of dollars for St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Sembroski, Isaacman and two crewmates are due to ride into orbit later this year in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.<\/p>\n

Although Sembroski bought tickets for the raffle, he didn\u2019t actually win<\/em> it: Instead, a friend from his college days at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University was chosen, according to The New York Times. The friend, who is remaining anonymous, decided not to go to space \u2014 and donated the ticket to Sembroski, a dedicated space fan.<\/p>\n

Sembroski said he was stunned to learn he\u2019d be taking his friend\u2019s place. \u201cIt was this moment of, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m going to space? You picked me? Wow. Cool.\u2019 I mean, it was a moment of shock,\u201d he said today during a news briefing at SpaceX\u2019s Florida facility.<\/p>\n

The 41-year-old Air Force veteran and former Space Camp counselor will serve as mission specialist and help manage payload operations, science experiments and mission communications.<\/p>\n

Sembroski been living and working in the Seattle area for more than a decade, at ATS Automation, MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions and most recently as machine fault detection and diagnostics lead at Lockheed Martin in Everett. He told GeekWire that he aims to keep up with his day job and his parenting duties at home as well as his spaceflight training.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s going to be a balancing act,\u201d he acknowledged. \u201cI do have a great team. I am fortunate enough to have an awesome supervisor and company that I\u2019m working for, that has flexible time and schedules \u2014 and they understand that people have lives outside of work. I just can\u2019t think of any greater opportunity to take that extra time than to be part of this crew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sembroski said he\u2019s tried to use his Space Camp experience to inspire others to pursue their passions, with space exploration as the focus. \u201cNow, it\u2019s an incredible opportunity I have to take that message to a wider audience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Chris
Chris Sembroski and Sian Proctor are new members of the Inspiration4 crew. (Inspiration4 via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The other crew member added to the mission today is Sian Proctor, a 51-year-old geoscience professor and STEM advocate at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix. Proctor was the winner of a separate \u201cShark Tank\u201d-style competition designed to reward innovative use of the Shift4Shop online commerce platform. Proctor used the software to power her space-art venture, and won out over about 200 other contestants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis opportunity is proof that hard work and perseverance can pay off in unimaginable ways,\u201d Proctor, who\u2019s a licensed airplane pilot and has applied multiple times to become a NASA astronaut, said in a news release. \u201cI have always believed that I was preparing for something special, and that moment has arrived with Inspiration4.\u201d<\/p>\n

At today\u2019s briefing, Proctor noted that her father worked at the NASA tracking station on Guam during the Apollo moon missions. \u201cI like to think that space has been in my DNA,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

She\u2019ll be the mission pilot, backing up Isaacman in his role as mission commander.<\/p>\n

Isaacman, who\u2019s a trained jet pilot and will be at the Crew Dragon\u2019s controls, selected the fourth member of the crew last month. She\u2019s Hayley Arceneaux, a cancer survivor and physician assistant at St. Jude. Arceneaux, 29, would be the youngest American to fly in space.<\/p>\n