Richard Branson's space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, has flown the first two people from Antigua and Barbuda aboard its SpaceShipTwo vessel VSS Unity Thursday (August 10).
Dubbed "Galactic 02," this is the first-ever flight where paying tourists are present after a few decades of promises.
A previous flight late last June designated "Galactic 01" was fully paid for by the Italian government in conjunction with the Italian Air Force's centenary.
Passengers and Crew
The flight carried Antiguan entrepreneur and health and wellness coach Keisha Schahaff and her daughter Anastatia Mayers, as well as former Olympic canoeist Jon Goodwin, who competed in the 1972 Munich Olympics and has been living with Parkinson's disease.
The fourth passenger on the flight was Virgin Galactic chief spaceflight instructor Beth Moses, who flew with Branson on the very first fully-manned flight test back in 2021.
The Unity was flown by C.J. Sturckow (commander), a former NASA astronaut who flew four space shuttle missions - including STS-88, the first shuttle flight to the International Space Station - and former NASA research pilot Kelly Latimer (pilot), who also flew in the cockpit of Cosmic Girl, the Boeing 747 plane that carried Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne rocket. Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy last April.
Meanwhile, aboard the mothership, VMS Eve was flown by Nicola Pecile (commander) and Mike Masucci (pilot).
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A Ticket to Space
Goodwin outrightly paid for a ticket to space, being one of the earliest to invest in the ride when he paid $250,000 back in 2005, the BBC revealed. He was determined to fly despite being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2014.
"And now for me to go to space with Parkinson's is completely magical," he said in a news release last month. "I hope this inspires all others facing adversity and shows them that challenges don't have to inhibit or stop them from pursuing their dreams."
Meanwhile, Schahaff obtained her ticket and that of Mayers's after she won their seats in a draw that raised $1.7 million in grants for Space for Humanity, a nonprofit focused on expanding access to space.
"When I was two years old, just looking up to the skies, I thought, 'How can I get there?'" Schahaff said. "But, being from the Caribbean, I didn't see how something like this would be possible."
Mayers, 18, is currently a second-year undergraduate studying philosophy and physics at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. She became the second-youngest person to travel to space, according to Virgin Galactic.
The current record belongs to Oliver Daemen, who was 18 when he accompanied Bezos on Blue Origin's inaugural passenger flight in 2021.
A Nation Rejoices
Meanwhile, Virgin Galactic and the Antiguan and Barbudan government have hosted a watch party to see Schahaff and Mayers set off to space.
During Virgin Galactic's livestream, Antiguan and Barbudan Prime Minister Gaston Browne said his nation is thrilled to see two of its citizens get to space, despite Virgin Galactic only fulfilling the US standard of 50 miles (80 kilometers) and not the global standard of 100 kilometers, which most scientists call the Karman Line.
Browne commended the "courage and resilience" of Schahaff and Mayers, which made the whole nation happy.
"It is the most significant event for the people of Antigua and Barbuda and the Caribbean," he said. "This is suddenly a major achievement and an achievement that would help to inspire great ambitions of the Antiguan and Barbudan people."
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