The first-ever Black lady to fly to space was Mae Jemison, who flew on the space shuttle Endeavour with the STS-47 mission in 1992. In addition to sharing her enjoyment about being a part of this mission and about becoming an astronaut, Proctor also shared how, as a Black female, she has had to deal with included pressures in her journey to space. In addition to being the very first Black female spacecraft pilot, Proctor will likewise be the oldest Black female to go to area, flying at 51 years old.
The first-ever Black female to fly to space was Mae Jemison, who flew on the space shuttle Endeavour with the STS-47 mission in 1992. There are three other Black women who are NASA astronauts but have never flown to space; they consist of Yvonne Cagle, Jessica Watkins and Jeanette Epps, who was picked by NASA in 2009 in the very same astronaut-selection round as Proctor. In 2020, Epps was picked to fly with Boeings Starliner-1 mission, the first functional objective for the craft that will take a crew of 4 to the International Space Station. In addition to sharing her excitement about being a part of this objective and about ending up being an astronaut, Proctor also shared how, as a Black lady, she has had to deal with added pressures in her journey to space. In addition to being the first Black female spacecraft pilot, Proctor will likewise be the oldest Black lady to go to space, flying at 51 years old.