Chris Sembroski

Experience an Inspiring Story to Space

Meet Astronaut Chris "Hanks" Sembroski

Passionate about space, science, and technology, Chris shares his excitement for the future through personal stories and his space photography. He is deeply committed to connecting with others and igniting their passions within. He specializes in driving actionable insights from complex data, inspiring others, and creating meaningful change. His expertise spans commercial spaceflight, avionics engineering, building automation, and energy analytics. As a speaker, he shares his excitement for the future through an unbelievable and incredible journey to space!

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Biography

Brief History of Hanks

Chris "Hanks" Sembroski represented the pillar of Generosity as part of the crew of Inspiration4 by serving as Mission Specialist on a 3-day mission to orbit. He grew up with a natural curiosity about outer space. He could be found stargazing late at night from the roof of his high school and launching high-powered model rockets deep in the Florida swamps in college. As a U.S. Space Camp counselor, he conducted simulated space shuttle missions and supported STEM-based education designed to inspire young minds to explore these areas and find their passions. As a college student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Chris volunteered with ProSpace, a grassroots lobbying effort that promoted legislation in Washington, D.C., to help open up space travel and allow companies like Blue Origin and SpaceX to exist. He then served in the U.S. Air Force, maintaining a fleet of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles and deploying for service in Iraq before leaving active duty in 2007.

In his civilian career, he has sought innovative, industry-disrupting methods to monitor and maintain mechanical equipment, reduce energy consumption, and use data to drive preemptive action making everything from data centers, to hospitals, to aerospace manufacturing facilities more efficient. He has contributed to Blue Origin's New Glenn program as an Avionics Testing Engineer. This reusable rocket stands over 310 feet (95 meters) tall, making it nearly the size of the Apollo program's Saturn V vehicle, and it will reshape what it means to go to space. In addition, Chris teaches as an Adjunct Faculty member for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. "Hanks" regularly visits the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where he speaks to trainees and the public as a featured guest.

He currently resides outside Seattle, WA, with his wife, and two young daughters.

Inspiration4

Inspiration4 is the world’s first all-civilian mission to orbit. The mission was commanded by Jared Isaacman, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shift4 Payments and an accomplished pilot and adventurer. Inspiration4 left Earth from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Complex 39A, the embarkation point for Apollo and Space Shuttle missions, and traveled across a low earth orbit at a peak altitude of 590km on a multi-day journey that continuously eclipsed more than 90% of the earth’s population. Named in recognition of the four-person crew that raised awareness and funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, this milestone represents a new era for human spaceflight and exploration.

To show support for St. Jude and to learn more about the mission, go to https://inspiration4.com