Virgin Galactic reveals its first space tourism crew: Mother and daughter who won FREE tickets will blast off alongside 80-year-old Olympian with Parkinson’s who paid $250,000
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A mother and daughter from the Caribbean and an 80-year-old Olympian with Parkinson’s become Virgin Galactic’s first space tourism crew.
The company, owned by Richard Branson, announced the trio on Monday, which will fly to the final frontier on Aug. 10.
Members include Keisha Schahaff and her daughter Anastasia Mayers, who won their place in a 2021 competition, and Jon Goodwin, who competed in the 1972 Munich Games.
The launch is scheduled for August 10 at Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport America in New Mexico and will see the “mothership” carrier lift off with the spaceplane attached to the underbelly.
Galactic 02 crew: (L-R) Anastasia Mayers, Jon Goodwin and Keisha Schahaff will depart aboard Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane Aug. 10
Once the planes reach at least 45,000 feet, the rocket plane will separate and travel more than 50 miles above the Earth’s surface.
Virgin Galactic has already booked a backlog of 800 customers vying for their chance to go to space, made possible by the company’s inaugural mission in June.
Tickets first sold for $250,000 but have since risen to $450,000.
The company announced the Galactic 02 on July 13, but did not disclose which customers will board the Unity 22 spaceplane.
Virgin Galactic sent three researchers in June who spent time in weightlessness to conduct research – the August mission is purely for fun.
DailyMail.com takes a look at each of the three members on board the upcoming flight.
Keisha Schaaff
Schahaff, from Antigua, won a competition with Omaze, a US for-profit fundraising company, for a one-time commercial trip to the last frontier aboard Virgin Galactic’s Unity 22.
Schahaff becomes the first person from Antigua to go to space. She is a health and wellness coach
Branson surprised Schahaff at her home in the Caribbean to personally award her the two seats (pictured)
The competition began in July after Virgin Galactic’s historic mission that took Branson to space and ended on September 1.
Branson surprised Schahaff at her home in the Caribbean to personally award her the two seats.
Schahaff is a health and wellness coach who specializes in helping women achieve balance through healthy eating, energy work and a variety of strengthening wellness practices, according to her website.
She also reveals on the site that she suffered from depression and went on a journey to heal herself, and after overcoming the ailments, embarked on a mission to help other women.
When I was two years old, I just looked up at the sky and thought, “How do I get there?” But being from the Caribbean, I didn’t see how such a thing could be possible,” Schahaff said in a statement Monday.
“The fact that I’m here, the first to travel to space from Antigua, shows that space is really becoming more accessible.
“I know my experience will change me, and I hope I can share that energy and inspire those around me – in my role as a life coach, mother and ambassador for our beautiful planet.”
Anastasia Mayers
Anastasia Mayers becomes the second youngest person to go to space. She is studying to be an astrobiologist
Mayers, the second youngest person to travel to space, is one of Schahaff’s two daughters.
She is in her second year at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, studying Philosophy and Physics.
Mayers wants to become an astrobiologist who thought life on the tiny island was impossible until her mother won the tickets aboard Unity.
Jon Goodwin
Jon Godwin spent his life as a daredevil, winning races in the Arctic Circle and climbing Kilimanjaro, before being diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2014
Goodwin, from Great Britain, is an adventurer and the first Olympian to travel to space, having competed in the 1972 Munich Games.
A retired slalom canoeist, he has been a regular and leading competitor in the Ferrari Hillclimb Championship since 1992, winning in 2000 and 2008, and has more class wins than any other competitor – as of the end of the 2020 season.
Goodwin is married to Pauline, who also competed in the 1972 and 1976 Olympics.
He also spent his life as a daredevil, winning races in the Arctic Circle and climbing Kilimanjaro.
Goodwin was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2014 and has since been committed to raising awareness of the disease and the importance of research to find a cure – and hopes that participating in this mission will bring awareness to the condition.
The crew has already started training for August’s mission in New Mexico
They spent days together and with Richard Branson (second right) preparing for the journey to space
He’s been battling for space for nearly a decade and nearly gave up after getting his diagnosis, thinking Virgin Galactic wouldn’t accept him – but they weren’t.
“When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2014, I was determined not to let life get in the way. I hope this inspires all others facing adversity,” Goodwin shared in a statement Monday.
How Galactic 02 will take off
The crew will board Unity, docked with the mothership Eve, which will blast down the runway and rise into the sky.
Unity will then ignite and disable its thruster once it reaches space.
At the apex of the flight, the spaceplane is expected to open its wings and soar above our planet’s atmosphere, allowing the crew to experience weightlessness and epic views of the final frontier for a few minutes.
Musk’s SpaceX and Bezos’ Blue Origin use rockets to launch capsules into space, while Branson chose to take a different approach with airborne launches.
Branson’s technique has been explored over decades of flight research, including the X-1, the first aircraft to break the sound barrier, and the X-15, the fastest piloted aircraft ever flown, reaching a top speed of 4,520 miles per hour during a 1967 flight.
And it reduces the need for massive amounts of fuel because the craft doesn’t use the rocket’s power to crawl through the dense lower atmosphere.