Virgin Galactic — the space tourism company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson — launched its spaceflight for tourists, taking its first private astronaut customers to the edge of space.
Virgin Galactic launched its first private astronaut mission on August 10, 2023, nearly two decades after it started selling tickets. Dubbed Galactic 02, the mission blasted off shortly past 11 a.m. ET from Spaceport America in New Mexico.
Following liftoff, Virgin Galactic’s carrier plane VMS Eve carried VSS Unity to an altitude of approximately 44,300 feet. Then, Unity ignited its own rocket motor and ascended to suborbital space, providing passengers with a thrilling 3Gs of acceleration.
Galactic 02’s suborbital flight granted passengers several minutes of weightlessness at an altitude that allowed them to witness Earth’s curvature.
The live footage inside the craft captured the passengers unstrapping from their seats and gazing at Earth through the windows as they floated around.
Virgin Galactic’s first private astronaut spaceflight
Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson celebrated the achievement, tweeting: “Congratulations Virgin Galactic commercial astronauts 011, 012, and 013 – welcome to the club!”
Despite being Virgin Galactic’s second commercial spaceflight, Galactic 02 was its first flight with private customers. The company had previously carried three crew members from the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy on Galactic 01 in June.
“Today Virgin Galactic took another historic leap forward by flying our first private astronaut mission and demonstrating how our spaceflights will broaden access to space,” Michael Colglazier, chief executive of Virgin Galactic, said in a post-flight statement.
“This is just the beginning, as we plan to continue flying monthly spaceflights while also developing our Delta Class production spaceships to scale our business” he added.
Virgin Galactic, which already boasts a backlog of around 800 customers, plans to launch Galactic 03, its third commercial spaceflight, in September.
Who were the passengers?
Aboard the spacecraft were six individuals in total – the spaceplane’s commander and former NASA astronaut CJ Sturckow, the pilot Kelly Latimer, and Beth Moses, Virgin Galactic’s lead astronaut instructor who provided training to the crew prior to the journey.
The spaceplane also hosted three private passengers, including health and wellness coach Keisha Schahaff and her 18-year-old daughter, Anastasia Mayers, both hailing from Antigua.
Schahaff secured her seat aboard Galactic 02 through a fundraising competition organized by Space for Humanity, a non-profit dedicated to democratizing space travel. Meanwhile, Mayers is pursuing studies in philosophy and physics at Aberdeen University in Scotland. Together, they represent the first-ever mother-daughter duo to venture into space.
“This experience has given me this beautiful feeling that if I can do this, I can do anything,” Schahaff stated after the flight.
The mission also marked the largest number of women flying in a single space mission.
Former Olympian Jon Goodwin was also onboard. 80-year-old Goodwin, diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, became the second passenger with Parkinson’s and the first Olympian to travel to space.
Milestones
Virgin Galactic claimed that the space mission achieved several milestones including:
- First female astronauts from the Caribbean
- First mother-daughter duo to go to space
- At 18, Anastatia Mayers became the youngest person to go to space
- Jon Goodwin, 80, who competed in the 1972 Munich Games First Olympian to go to space
- It was the first majority-female spaceflight
- The sixth and seventh Black women to go to space
- The second person with Parkinson’s to go to space