Virgin Galactic’s first space tourists – a mother and daughter and Olympian – complete hero walk before historic flight
- Virgin Galactic’s first space tourists are gearing up for their flight to space
- The crew includes a mother and daughter, along with a former Olympian
- The crew will soar 50 miles above Earth’s surface during the mission
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.
Antiguan mother and daughter duo Keisha Schahaff, 46 and Anastatia Mayers, 18 and retired British Olympian Jon Goodwin, 80, will make history for the Richard Branson-founded company when they venture into space.
The crew is set to lift off from New Mexico at 10:30 am ET on the spaceplane attached to a ‘mothership’ carrier plane.
The planes will soar to about 44,000 feet above Earth’s surface, where they will separate and the spaceplane to carry the three new astronauts over 50 miles above sea level for passengers to enjoy incredible views of Earth.
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.
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, have 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
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.
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 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.
‘The future of space travel has arrived,’ the company says on its website.
‘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.
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