Hayley Arceneaux to be the youngest American woman in space

29-year-old physician assistant and cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux is the newest member to join the SpaceX all-civilian team. Her age makes her the youngest American woman to ever go into space – and rightly so one of the things that make him a badass.

Arceneaux breaks many boundaries. Women have gone into space before, but in smaller numbers compared to their male counterparts. Before Arceneaux, SpaceX had only sent one other woman to the moon. And she completely breaks boundaries that would normally keep someone like her from making for a place. Arceneaux was diagnosed with bone cancer when she was 10 years old. From The 19th:

Under NASA’s usual medical guidelines, Arceneaux would not have been able to participate in the mission: She has an artificial component in her leg and a titanium rod in her left bone coming from her treatment. She spent a year doing intapply chemotherapy and surgery to remove a lump that was on her left knee. She had to learn to walk again.

Astronauts undergo rigorous physical testing for eligibility for flight, and a prosthesis would be disqualified for a mission if not for the commercial nature of the flight. Woinitially men were excluded from space light because of assumptions about physical fitness and gender expectations.

She can take the flight because the flight is led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, who bought the flight from SpaceX and decided to reserve two sets for people who received treatment or work at St. Jude. Arceneaux, a former patient, she was only working as a medical assistant at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital when she received the call to join the team.

Her answer was a resounding “yes!” followed by a request that she ask her mother, who had gone through a hell of a lot to keep her daughter healthy. But that was the kind of opportunity you would be foolish to pass up.

“Women belong to space… I’m not going to be like the latter,” said Arceneaux. “And I’m very happy to represent women, and to represent those who are not physically perfect.”