On September 15, 2021, she was launched into Earth's orbit as the pilot of the Crew Dragon space capsule, as part of the Inspiration4 private orbital spaceflight. As the pilot on this mission, she became the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft. She is also a major in the Civil Air Patrol where she serves as the aerospace education officer for its Arizona Wing.
She was born in Hagåtña, Guam on March 28, 1970, to a Sperry Univac engineer who was working for NASA at the Guam Remote Ground Terminal during the Apollo era. After the Moon landings, Proctor's family moved to Minnesota and later to various Northeastern states while her father changed jobs. Her family moved to Fairport, New York, when she was 14 where she later graduated from Fairport High School.
She studied at Arizona State University, where she received an undergraduate degree on environmental sciences and later a masters degree in Geology in 1998. In 2006 she obtained a PhD in Science education.

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