If you strum a ukulele in space, does it make a sound? In Chris Sembroski’s case, it certainly makes a difference. The Air Force veteran won the Generosity seat on the first-ever all civilian crew for SpaceX’s Inspiration4 mission. With a donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, the U.S. Space Camp counsellor and Lockheed Martin data engineer was entered in the contest that ultimately punched his ticket beyond the stratosphere. He brought a Martin soprano ukulele designed specially for the mission aboard and played it in space.
The other members of Inpiration4 included commander and benefactor Jared Isaacman representing Leadership, Dr. Sian Proctor representing Prosperity and Hayley Arcenaux representing Hope. Arcenaux is a cancer survivor who was treated at St. Jude’s and now works there. The Netflix documentary introduced the crew to the world prior to the September 15th launch, which SpaceX streamed live. Watching the Dragon capsule engulfed in flames as it burst forth made the extraordinary danger level extremely obvious. After orbiting the earth over three days at the highest altitude ever – beyond the International Space Station – the crew splashed down safely in the Atlantic. It was truly inspirational to watch civilians train and transform into superheroes. It’s in that spirit that we approached
