Topline
Virgin Galactic successfully launched Galactic 02 on Thursday morning, marking its first-ever spaceflight carrying paying space tourists. Among the passengers were the first-ever mother-daughter duo to venture into space and the first-ever Olympian in space, according to a statement provided to Forbes.
Space tourists, including Jon Goodwin, Anastatia Mayers, and her mother Keisha Schahaff, posed for … [+]
Key Facts
Keisha Schahaff and her daughter Ana Mayers from Antigua secured their seats on Thursday’s flight through a fundraising program organized by the non-profit Space for Humanity. Their contribution of $1.7 million made them the first Caribbean women to experience space travel.
Accompanied by pilot Kelly Latimer and Virgin Galactic’s staff astronaut Beth Moses, Schahaff and Mayers joined the flight, marking the largest number of women to go to space in a single mission in history, as stated by the company.
Mayers also became the second-youngest person to venture into space, narrowly missing the record set by Oliver Daemen, another 18-year-old who flew to space as part of Blue Origin’s July 2021 spaceflight, months before Mayers.
Furthermore, the flight made 80-year-old Jon Goodwin, a former Olympian who competed in the men’s slalom canoeing competition at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Germany, the first Olympian to travel to space.
Goodwin, one of the earliest ticket purchasers over a decade ago, is also the second person diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease — he received the diagnosis in 2014 — to embark on a space journey.
Key Background
Virgin Galactic, established in 2004 by billionaire Richard Branson, carried out Thursday’s flight with the aim of providing space travel experiences to affluent clients. In 2021, Branson became the first billionaire to fly to space on his own rocket, and prior to Thursday, the company conducted various test flights along with a research flight. This marked the first time Virgin Galactic brought paying customers to space. The company is a part of what some refer to as the “new billionaire space race,” with other billionaires like Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, and Jeff Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin, also investing in space travel. SpaceX’s objective is to eventually put humans on Mars, while Blue Origin aims to relocate certain industries, especially those causing harm to the planet, to space.
Big Number
The cost for a tourist to ride in the spacecraft that launched on Thursday was $450,000.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate Richard Branson’s net worth to be $3 billion.
Further Reading
Virgin Galactic Plans First Commercial Space Flight This Month (Forbes)
Virgin Galactic Stock Tumbles Nearly 20%, Even After Good News—Here’s Why (Forbes)
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Jessica Irvine is a tech enthusiast specializing in gadgets. From smart home devices to cutting-edge electronics, Jessica explores the world of consumer tech, offering readers comprehensive reviews, hands-on experiences, and expert insights into the coolest and most innovative gadgets on the market.
