Making Space In Space
Sabrina Thompson, rocket scientist and atmospheric physicist, saw an opportunity to combine her passion for science, art, and fashion to inspire the next generation of girls and carve out a business opportunity in space.
Photograph by Pat Bourque
Unless you are in the field yourself, you probably can count the number of times you encountered a rocket scientist (if at all). It is one of those fields shrouded in mystery and prestige. So when we discovered the work of Sabrina Thompson, artist, fashion lover, rocket scientist and atmospheric physicist, among other nomenclatures, we knew this was someone we needed to get to know better. She personifies what it looks like to live as a multi-passionate entrepreneur. Thompson combines her interests, academic pursuits, and work experience into something that creates meaningful change in the world. Her work as an author, speaker, and educator is exposing the next generation of girls to STEM through art and fashion. She is a skateboard-riding science-minded business person creating fashion forward apparel in anticipation of the upcoming wave of space tourism. Obviously, we had to know more.
Q: At what point in your career did you say, “Being a rocket scientist and atmospheric physicist isn’t challenging enough, I should do more with my life?”
I actually functioned as a rocket scientist and an artist before becoming an atmospheric physicist. While trying to figure out what to do next in my career, I found myself asking the questions like: What is the purpose of designing all of these orbits around these celestial bodies? What are we trying to figure out and why is it important? One day while shadowing one of my mentors (who happened to be a former astronaut and the head of the Earth Science Division at NASA Goddard), I picked his brain. His name was Dr. Piers Sellers. Before becoming an astronaut, Dr. Sellers worked for many years as a climatologist. By the end of that day, I found myself extremely interested in climate change. Next thing I knew, I was pursuing a Ph.D. in atmospheric physics and working on research that allowed me to answer some of those science questions I once had.
Q: What happened after you made the decision to pursue more education?
Although I passed the qualifying exams (which was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, academically) I did not finish the Ph.D., program. Instead, in August of 2021, I finished with a Master’s degree and started pursing projects outside of work (and school) that inspired me and made me feel like I was using my gifts, talents, and skills for a purpose greater than myself.
I am very optimistic, to the point that people used to think it was childlike when I would express some of the far-reaching goals and aspirations I had. Some people thought it was cute (like they would a puppy), while others either did not take me seriously or tried to “bring me back down to reality.”
Q: A lot of your work is inspired by your desire to empower the next generation of girls. Who would you say inspires you and why?
It’s funny, but until I met Dr. Piers Sellers, who unfortunately is no longer with us, I would say I was inspired by people who were far out of reach. For example, people like Maya Angelou, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, etc. I looked up to people who exhibited leadership, courage, and power, especially during hard times. Although I’m still inspired by such people, Dr. Sellers was the first person I met personally who inspired me from the start. In addition to being one of the smartest people I know, he lived life to the fullest. He was extremely passionate and hard working, but somehow he made managing a division full of top scientists from around the world look easy. He embodied an overwhelming optimistic attitude that was so infectious, yet somewhat childlike. It wasn’t until I met Dr. Sellers that I became inspired, as well as encouraged, by seeing what great things can be achieved in one’s lifetime if we remain optimistic and have the audacity to pursue big dreams! Since then, I’ve been inspired by many more people who pursue dreams that benefit and positively impact the world as a whole. Today, Pharrell Williams is one of those people. I hope to meet him one day.
Photograph by Torren Moore
My mind is always full of ideas flip-flopping from fashion, art, and design to science, math, and engineering. It’s an insane world inside of my head, and it feels good when I can create something useful - and sometimes impactful - with that mental energy. More importantly, if I can help open up the minds of youth and empower them to be the innovators of the future, that’s icing on the cake.
Q: Last year, you ran a Kickstarter campaign to design a prototype for the first spacesuit specifically for women. Why now?
In June 2019, NASA announced a new directive that opened the International Space Station for commercial use. This opened up so many opportunities for commercial companies to manufacture goods in space, build space vehicles, platforms, and habitats, as well as stimulate space tourism and encourage private astronauts.
In the last 60 years, more than 600 people have flown in space. The majority of these have been astronauts who are employed by the government/military. As launch technology continues to improve, reducing launch-to-orbit cost, I believe the cost to send humans to space will soon follow this trend. There are so many space companies popping up on the scene now, making space exploration accessible to the many who never imagined they’d meet government requirements to become an astronaut or work in the field as a scientist or engineer.
Today, people can win or buy time in space. They are able to chose what they will do there, and now, more and more training centers are available to prepare these citizen astronauts for a journey of a lifetime.
Knowing what is already happening, as well as what is to come, the big question is, "What will these folks wear when they’re in space?!" As an aspiring astronaut, myself, what would I want to wear on my journey to space? I could go on and say more about the push for inclusivity in space, but I think at this point that’s a given. I believe there is no better time than now to push for more when in space. Through my company, GIRL IN SPACE CLUB, I plan to create functional, yet fashionable flight suits, space travel wear, and more, for female explorers. Whether they’re on a mission to explore space or conduct missions right here on Earth, our goal is to make sure they are safe, comfortable, and stylish in the process.
On top of all of this, our major goal is to inspire more girls to become tomorrow’s innovators through the products we develop and the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics). educational services we provide.
Q: The design of space travel apparel has been primarily functional up until now, how has your community of scientists reacted to you bringing a fashion component in the mix?
Both men and women I’ve spoken to, love and support the idea of making spacewear more fashionable AND functional! They believe it’s about time, especially the women. Many shared ideas, suggestions, and given feedback on our first flight suit prototype. A lot of feedback, from a functional perspective, included adding a feature for women to be able to use the restroom without taking entire suit off. We quickly went into engineering mode to solve this problem, filed a patent application to protect our invention, then started the production process.
Before going into production, in addition to our Kickstarter backers, we pre-sold flight suits to an all-female astronaut crew of 9 who will be simulating a mission to Mars (Hypatia I), as well as the first Black woman who will travel to space with Blue Origin (Aisha Bowe). Although we are still in the early stages, we hope to apply lessons learned to the more complex space travel suit, which is up next!
