Private space company Virgin Galactic has taken tourists into space for the first time. The VSS Unity spacecraft flew 80-year-old Briton Jon Goodwin, 46-year-old Keisha Schahaff from the Caribbean state of Antigua and Barbuda and their 18-year-old daughter Anastatia Mayers to an altitude of 88 kilometers above Earth on Thursday.
The space tourists could see the curvature of the Earth and enjoy a moment of weightlessness before returning to Earth. Mission Galactic 02, launched from New Mexico, was Virgin Galactic’s first flight with tourists on board.
First commercial flight in June
The company, founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, had already completed its first commercial flight at the end of June, taking two members of the Italian Air Force and an Italian researcher into space. The Italians made several short attempts there.
Keisha Schahaff had won two tickets in a lottery almost two years ago for the Virgin Galactic spaceflight. At the time, Branson traveled to Antigua and Barbuda to personally inform them of their victory. Schahaff brought along her daughter Anastatia, who is studying philosophy and physics in Scotland.
Second person with Parkinson’s in space
The third passenger on Thursday’s flight, Jon Goodwin, was a canoeist at the 1972 Munich Olympics. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2014. He was now the second person in history with Parkinson’s to fly into space.
At Virgin Galactic, an aircraft carrier first takes the “VSS Unity” to an altitude of about 15 kilometers. There the spaceship, which looks like a private jet, undocks and flies further into space on its own.
Monthly flights to space planned
Founded in 2004, the company is now aiming for monthly spaceflights. In July 2021, Richard Branson had personally participated in a spaceflight. After that, the company had to take a longer break for technical improvements.
The company competes with Blue Origin, the company of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, which has already sent 31 people into space on short suborbital flights. However, since an accident in September 2022, his rocket has been grounded.
Source: Krone
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