Dr. Sian Proctor is making history as part of the first all civilian crew in space and as the first-ever black female spacecraft pilot.

The geology professor and pilot lifted off at Cape Canaveral with three others on a three-day expedition into orbit.

Former State Senator Sean O'Brien who watched the launch from Florida tells us, "Blazing new trails runs in Sian's family. Her father was part of the Apollo Program."

Dr. Sian Proctors' dad became the Senior Computer engineering Technician for Bendix Corporation. He was assigned to Guam and was in charge of tracking operations for the NASA Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments. He worked on Apollo Missions 7 to 13 while on Guam.

"Her great grandmother Reverend Elizabeth Powell broke barriers to fight for civil rights. Powell became an ordained Baptist Minister in 1956. The Reverend Mother Powell founded her own church, the World Fellowship Interdenominational Church in 1962, so she was a trendsetter, breaking barriers runs in the family," said O'Brien.

O'Brien became best friends and was roommates in college with Sian Proctor's brother Chris. He watched the launch from Florida.

"It's really exciting. She is taking a letter her father got from Neil Armstrong when he was part of the space program back in the 1960s with Apollo 11. She is actually taking that letter up into space with her. It's kind of cool to see that's going full circle and going into space with her."

"Sian is definitely inspiring others. She was selected to be an astronaut in 2009 with NASA and she made it to the top ten. She didn't give up on her dream she continued working on space-related programs, and then to get selected now to go into space, I mean it's just a great story. It shows don't ever give up on your dreams and they can happen," emphasized O'Brien. 

Hayley Arceneauz also set a record becoming the youngest person in space ever. The 29-year-old Physician Assistant is a cancer survivor and works at Saint Jude's Hospital and inspires others.

Billionaire Jared Isaacman, a pilot and businessman, is commander of the crew. He paid for this adventure into space.

Isaacman is raising awareness and money for Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Chris Sembroski is an Aerospace Data Engineer.

They plan to collect data for research about how space flight affects the human body.

The crew will begin their journey home on Saturday or early Sunday.

You can check in on their journey at wfmj.com and at spacex.com