Virgin Galactic‘s first commercial space flight took off from New Mexico today and successfully carried three passengers to the edge of space.
Antiguan mother and daughter duo Keisha Schahaff, 46 and Anastatia Mayers, 18 and retired British Olympian Jon Goodwin, 80, made history for the Richard Branson-founded company, becoming the first people that were not trained astronauts or researchers to orbit.
The crew of the VSS Unity gave the thumbs up after the carrier plane released the ship, which continued its ascent to over 50 miles above Earth.
The team then huddled around the ship’s windows and took in the views of our planet before making its re-entry into the atmosphere.
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Virgin Galactic’s first space tourists hugged their friends and family during the ‘hero walk’ before traveling to the Spaceport launch pad for their epic trip to the final frontier
The mother and daughter won their seats in a sweepstakes and Goodwin purchased his seat for $250,000 in 2005 – he will be the first Olympian to travel into space.
Schahaff and Mayers won free tickets for the once-in-a-lifetime commercial trip.
Branson was not present at the launch but was in Antigua with Schahaff and Mayers’ family to celebrate the launch.
Virgin Galactic has already booked a backlog of 800 customers vying for their chance to go to space, which was made possible by the company’s inaugural mission in June.
Tickets were sold for $250,000 but have since increased to $450,000.
The crew took off from the hangar in sleek Rang Rover vehicles and headed to the launch pad less than one mile away to where Unity and Eve, the mothership, had been waiting.
The crew has become very close since they started training for the spaceflight. Meyers checked in with Goodwin during the hero walk to make sure he was ok and ready to go
Goodwin’s family attended the spaceflight. From right, wife Pauline, son David, grandson Sebastian, son Paul and daughter-in-law Lily watch toward the tarmac of Spaceport America
Branson was not present at the launch but was in Antigua with Schahaff and Mayers’ family to celebrate the launch.
Once the planes reach the target altitude, Unity will ignite its thrusters and separate from Eve.
Unity will then climb mile by mile until it reaches the edge of space.
At the apex of the flight, the spaceplane is expected to ‘feather’ its wings open and hover above our planet’s atmosphere, allowing the crew to experience weightlessness and epic views of the final frontier for a few minutes.
The official livestream of the mission will be live at 11 am ET on the company’s website and YouTube channel
‘The future of space travel has arrived,’ the company says on its website.
Goodwin, from Great Britain, is an adventurer and the first Olympian to travel to space, having competed in the 1972 Munich Games
The space tourists were all smiles during their hero walk where they hugged friends and family before heading to the spaceplane
The crew will board Unity and Eve, shooting down the runway and taking off toward the skies. Unity will then ignite its thruster and shut off once it reaches space
‘Livestream countdown will begin just before the spaceship release.’
Today’s historic Galactic 02 mission will have six people on board, including three Virgin Galactic employees – Commander Frederick Sturckow, Pilot Kelly Latimer, and Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses.
Schahaff, from Antigua, won a sweepstakes with Omaze, an American for-profit fundraising company, for a once-in-a-lifetime commercial trip to the final frontier aboard Virgin Galactic’s Unity.
Mayers, the second youngest person to travel to space, is one of Schahaff’s two daughters.
She is in her second year at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, studying Philosophy and Physics.
Mayers is set on becoming an astrobiologist who thought living on the small island impossible until her mother won the tickets aboard Unity.
Goodwin, from Great Britain, is an adventurer and the first Olympian to travel to space, having competed in the 1972 Munich Games.
He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2014 and has since been dedicated to raising awareness for the disease and the importance of research into finding a cure – and hopes that taking part in this mission will help shine a spotlight on the condition.
The mission, dubbed ‘Galatic 02,’ is Virgin Galactic’s seventh trip to space since 2018, but the first with a ticket-holder.
Branson hopped on board for the first full-size crew ride in 2021. Italian military and government researchers soared in June on the first commercial flight.
According to the company, about 800 people are currently on Virgin Galactic´s waiting list.
