Virgin Galactic have announced the safe completion of its first private astronaut flight, ‘Galactic 02.’
The flight took off yesterday, at 11am EST (4PM BST) from New Mexico.
Upon reaching an altitude of 44,500 feet, the VSS Unity was released.
After further ascent, the passengers were given the all-clear by the instructor to unbuckle their seatbelts and enjoy a few minutes of zero-gravity. Passengers were also able to take in the views of planet earth and surrounding space.
The Virgin Galactic reached around 88km (55 miles) high.
Three passengers were onboard the 90 minute flight, including the 80-year-old Jon Goodwin, a former Olympian who suffers with Parkinson’s Disease. Goodwin initially purchased his place onboard the Galactic 02 in 2005 for the price of $250,000 which equates to roughly £194,000. Tickets are now priced at $450,000.
Goodwin was one of the first people to purchase a seat onboard Virgin Galactic back in 2005, confident that one day he would experience the cosmic journey.
The other two passengers onboard was mother and daughter duo, Keisha Schahaff, aged 46 years old and Anastatia Mayers, aged 18 years old. The pair from Antigua and Barbuda were chosen to embark on the Galactic 02 after winning their places in a prize draw.
The three passengers were accompanied by two pilots and Virgin Galactic’s astronaut trainer.
The mission achieved multiple historic milestones, showcasing how Virgin Galactic spaceflights are broadening access to space for a diverse, global community of astronauts.
Flying private astronauts Jon Goodwin from the United Kingdom, and Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers from Antigua and Barbuda, ‘Galactic 02’ achieved the following:
- First female astronauts from the Caribbean
- First mother-daughter duo to go to space
- Most women flown in a single space mission
- Youngest person to go to space
- First Olympian to go to space
- First majority female spaceflight
- The sixth and seventh Black women to go to space
- Second person with Parkinson’s to go to space
- Third oldest person to go to space.
Roughly 800 people are estimated to be on the waiting list for the next Virgin Galactic space flight.
