Hayley Arceneaux, Bone Cancer Survivor To Become Youngest American In Space

Hayley Arceneaux SpaceX: 29-year-old Hayley Arceneaux will become the youngest American in space when she launches into orbit on SpaceX’s first private flight.

Arceneaux beat bone cancer, and the former patient is a physician assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. On February 22, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital announced that Arceneaux would launch alongside Jared Isaacman, a billionaire who is using his purchased spaceflight as a charitable fundraiser. Arceneaux will also become to first person with a prosthetic to enter space.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Arceneaux stated that, “My battle with cancer really prepared me for space travel. It made me tough, and then also I think it really taught me to expect the unexpected and go along for the ride.”

Arceneaux wants to show her young, impressionable patients and other cancer survivor that ‘the sky is not even the limit anymore.’ She added that, “It’s going to mean so much to these kids to see a survivor in space.”

Isaacman announced the space mission on February 1, pledging to raise $200 million for St. Jude. Two others will be traversing space alongside Arceneaux and Isaacman. One will be a sweepstakes winner, anyone donating to St. Jude in February may win. The other seat will go to a business owner that uses Shift4Payment, Isaacman’s credit0card processing company. The two other crew members will be revealed in March.

Liftoff is planned to take place around October at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The capsule will be orbiting Earth for 2 to 4 days.