Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic has achieved its first successful customer flight, carrying a mother-daughter duo from Antigua and an 89-year-old British Olympian to the edge of space. The achievement means Virgin Galactic can now begin offering monthly rides and join competitors Blue Origin and SpaceX in the space tourism industry. The mother-daughter duo, Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers, were sweepstakes winners and the first Caribbean natives to venture to outer space.
The flight also marked the first time women outnumbered men on a space flight, with four women on board compared to two men according to Associated Press. The cost of a ticket has risen from $200,000 in 2005 to $450,000 today and there are currently around 800 people on Virgin Galactic’s waiting list.
Keisha Schahaff and her 18-year-old daughter Anastatia Mayers make history as the first Caribbean natives to venture into outer space. The mother-daughter duo won two coveted seats worth $900,000 in 2021 as part of a competition by Virgin Galactic to “send more diverse humans to space and change perspectives.” A health coach, Schahaff, and her daughter, who will be the second-youngest person to reach space, boarded the VSS Unity on Thursday, which took off from a launch site in New Mexico.
The spaceflight marks Virgin Galactic’s second-ever commercial trip to space after the space tourism company successfully launched a team of Italian researchers into orbit in June. Keisha Schahaff and her daughter joined four other passengers onboard VSS Unity, including former British Olympic canoeist Jon Goodwin, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease. According to Virgin Galactic Goodwin will be only the second person with Parkinson’s to fly to space.
Schahaff and Mayers also took part in Virgin Galactic’s Readiness Journey Program, which trains its astronauts to be “physically, mentally and spiritually ready for space.” Since the initial flight was successful, Virgin Galactic has been offering monthly flights since July, though a backlog of passengers has already reached 800, meaning some aspiring astronauts will have to wait years to teeter on the edge of space.
Today we flew three incredible private passengers to space: Keisha Schahaff, Anastatia Mayers and Jon Goodwin. Congratulations @VirginGalactic commercial astronauts 011, 012 and 013 – welcome to the club! https://t.co/oJb9bw6ggk #Galactic02 pic.twitter.com/PVQoH9q7Js
— Richard Branson (@richardbranson) August 10, 2023
For Schahaff and Mayers, this opportunity is not only a dream come true but also one that symbolizes diversity and representation. “A childhood dream has come true,” Schahaff said. Her daughter added: “I have no words. The only thought I had the whole time was ‘Wow!’”. As they take off. The duo’s historic journey is undoubtedly a significant milestone for the people of the Caribbean, emphasizing the importance of diversity, challenging stereotypes, and breaking barriers.
As they embarked on their out-of-this-world adventure, the mother-daughter duo witness the Earth from a unique perspective and experience weightlessness, something very few people have ever encountered. With the eyes of the world upon Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers, the Caribbean mom and daughter duo make history while inspiring future generations to push boundaries and reach for the stars.
