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Inspiration4 astronaut Sian Proctor reflects on historic SpaceX spaceflight experience - Space.com
Oct 17, 2021 3 mins, 31 secs
— Sian Proctor, the pilot for SpaceX's historic Inspiration4 mission, is on cloud 9 after returning from her epic three-day-long spaceflight.

Strapped inside a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, they blasted off atop a used Falcon 9 rocket on a flight that circled the Earth for three days before splashing down.

The Inspiration4 crew was selected as part of a massive fundraising effort benefiting St.

Once selected, the crew of four went through approximately six months of training before strapping into their Dragon spacecraft and blasting off into orbit.

Despite the seemingly short time frame, Proctor said that SpaceX prepared the crew well for what to expect on their flight. .

"SpaceX did a good job preparing us," she said, "but nothing compares to the actual flight." .

"There's nothing like blasting through the atmosphere, and when you're coming back to Earth, well that's a whole other level of excitement." .

According to Proctor, the most intense parts of the mission were launch and landing, and it was quite an experience to go from weightlessness to full gravity as the capsule made its way back to Earth.

Fortunately, all of the different training experiences gave the crew an idea of what the G forces would feel like at various points of the flight. .

When asked if anyone got physically sick during the flight, either on the way to space or during landing, Proctor was happy to report that no one on the crew got sick and everyone was all smiles and cheers when the parachutes deployed prior to splashing down.

"She's a great crew member," Proctor said.

"We were used to being together in a small space and, you know, we get along really well," Proctor said.

Each of the Inspiration4 crew members was able to pick out a few of the foods they would eat while in orbit, though Proctor wasn't as hungry as she anticipated.

"Going to space is a lot like camping, you think you're going to be so hungry and then you're not," she said.

She added some jalapeno to the pizza because, like most space travelers, Proctor wanted something spicy to jazz it up.

(Astronauts tend to prefer spicier foods in space because while in zero gravity, fluids collect in their heads and they are a bit congested much like if they had a cold here on Earth.)  "The pizza was good, but that BLT was just fantastic.".

Prior to her debut as an astronaut with Inspiration4, Proctor completed a number of analog space missions, or simulated space missions, and believes that sustainable food practices (like those used in spaceflight as well as analog missions) can help reduce food waste here on Earth. .

When it came time to sleep, Proctor said that the crew would strap themselves into their seats.

Following the mission, SpaceX officials revealed that there was an issue with the Crew Dragon's onboard toilet, which is located on the craft's ceiling, near the nose cone where the cupola window is.

At a post-splashdown news conference, Benji Reed, SpaceX's Director of Crew Mission Management did mention that there was an issue with the toilet's suction fan — a critical component of the facility.

Proctor wouldn't confirm if any of the crew members boldly went number two in space despite the toilet troubles, but she did say that using the bathroom facilities was tricky.

Since the mission was not docking with the International Space Station (ISS), engineers at SpaceX decided to remove the craft's docking adapter, and install in its place a massive dome window.

Proctor also said that each crew member chose a playlist and they had one as a group.

More: Inspiration4 SpaceX mission carrying indie-pop song to orbit.

Following their epic space mission, the Inspiration4 crew got some downtime with family and friends

Additionally, Proctor and the rest of her Inspiration4 crewmates were able to see the Falcon 9 first stage booster that ferried them into space once back on Earth

Her father passed away before she made it to space, but Proctor said he'd be incredibly proud and excited

Now that she’s back on Earth, Proctor says she is going to take some time to reflect on her days in space and focus on her art. 

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