Sarah Gillis: SpaceX Engineer and Future Astronaut

Sarah Gillis is an SpaceX engineer who is scheduled to fly on Polaris Dawn, the inaugural mission of the Polaris Program. If the trip goes ahead as planned in 2023, she will become the youngest American to reach orbit.  In this episode, Ben and Sarah discuss how she and the crew are preparing for the first commercial EVA mentally and physically, will Sarah be taking her violin to Space and why she and the crew will be putting in contact lenses when they get to Space! Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsor: Dockside Vaults: www.docksidevaults.com We are proud to have Dockside Vaults as a sponsor for our podcast. Their support will enable us to continue bringing you insightful conversations with leading experts in the space industry. We share their commitment to promoting the space industry, and we look forward to collaborating with them on future events. If you're looking for a stunning venue for your next event, be sure to check out Dockside Vaults. Thank you, Dockside Vaults, for your support! OUTLINE: Here's approximate timestamps for the episode. 00:00 Intro to Episode 72: Sarah Gillis 00:56 Please rate, review and subscribe! 01:34 Welcoming Sarah - is she busy currently? 02:00 Recent training 02:50 The EVA 04:20 Mentally preparing for the EVA 06:51 Confidence in team 08:39 Role of Mission Specialist  10:20 How Sarah found out about Polaris Dawn 14:32 Will Sarah take her violin to Space? 15:34 Launch Date 16:18 Experiments on Polaris Dawn 19:47 Youngest American to reach orbit (no pressure!) 21:26 Importance of mentors  23:40 The Inspiration of Inspiration 4! 25:18 How has Crew Dragon changed? 28:05 Mood within SpaceX 30:00 Camera's within the capsule? 30:30 Expected high's 32:21 Wrap up and socials Follow Sarah Gillis Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Gillis Twitter: https://twitter.com/gillis_sarahe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gillis_sarahe/ Website: https://polarisprogram.com/dawn/ Stay connected with us! Use #Astroben across various social media platforms to engage with us! (NEW - YOUTUBE): www.youtube.com/@astrobenpodcast Website: www.astroben.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/astrobenpodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Gambleonit LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/astrobenpodcast/