Virgin Galactic is set to embark on its next spaceflight, featuring a remarkable mix of passengers, including a mother-daughter duo from the Caribbean who won their tickets through a sweepstakes contest and an 80-year-old former Olympian. The upcoming mission, known as “Galactic 02,” is scheduled for August 10 from Spaceport America, New Mexico, according to a statement from the company.
Among the passengers on board will be Keisha Schahaff, a health coach from Antigua and Barbuda, who secured her seat by winning a contest that raised $1.7 million for the non-profit organisation Space for Humanity. The organization aims to promote wider access to space exploration. Schahaff expressed her excitement, stating, “This is a great opportunity for me to feel alive and to just make the greatest adventure ever.” Her daughter, Anastasia Mayers, an 18-year-old student at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, studying philosophy and physics, will join her. The duo will be the first mother-daughter pair to journey into space together.
Accompanying them will be Jon Goodwin, an 80-year-old adventurer and former Olympian who competed in the 1972 Olympic Games as a canoeist for Britain. Goodwin was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2014 and will become the second person with the condition to travel to space, defying physical limitations and inspiring others.
Virgin Galactic’s spaceflights involve a twin-fuselage carrier aircraft that takes off from a runway, gains altitude, and then releases a rocket-powered spaceplane. The spaceplane ascends to space with the ticket-holders on board, offering a few minutes of weightlessness at an altitude of approximately 53 miles (85 kilometres) above sea level. Subsequently, the spaceplane glides back to Earth.
Established in 2004, Virgin Galactic has sold around 800 tickets for future commercial flights. Between 2005 and 2014, the company sold 600 tickets priced between $200,000 and $250,000. Since then, an additional 200 tickets have been sold at a price of $450,000 each. The company has been a key player in the suborbital space tourism sector, competing with Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin. Blue Origin had already sent 32 individuals into space using a vertical lift-off rocket but has been grounded since an accident during an unmanned flight in September 2022. However, the company announced plans in March to resume spaceflight operations soon.
Virgin Galactic’s upcoming spaceflight not only represents a milestone in private space exploration but also showcases the diversity of passengers embarking on this extraordinary adventure. The company’s commitment to expanding access to space and pushing the boundaries of human exploration continues to captivate the world’s imagination.
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