Virgin Galactic finally launches first space tourist flight

Virgin Galactic's first full space tourism flight

Virgin Galactic's spaceplane, VSS Unity, detached from its carrier jet VMS Eve shortly after takeoff, and it then powered up its engine to fly the crew to suborbital space, reaching a maximum altitude of roughly 55 miles (88 kilometers).

Unity firing its engines has become a familiar sight, though it is, in fact, the first time Virgin Galactic has flown a paying space tourist — Jon Goodwin — on its spaceplane.

Keisha Schahaff and her daughter Anastatia Mayers won the tickets after entering their names into a prize draw during a Virgin Atlantic airliner flight from Antigua to Scotland, where Mayers attends Aberdeen University. Goodwin, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, is the second person with Parkinson's disease to ever fly to space.

They all flew alongside Virgin Galactic's chief astronaut instructor Beth Moses.

Prior to today's space tourism flight, Virgin Galactic had also conducted several test flights, including the one that flew Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson to suborbital space.

According to a recent report by The Guardian, Virgin Galactic has a backlog of bookings for upcoming space tourism flights, and it is thought to have charged between $250,000 and $450,000 per seat.

Goodwin paid $250,000 for his seat back in 2005, and he had feared his diagnosis would mean he wouldn't be able to fly to space. Before today's spaceflight, he said he wanted to show that Parkinson's disease does not define him.

Release release, release! #VSSUnity has successfully released from our mothership #VMSEve and ignited the rocket motor. WATCH: https://t.co/5UalYTpQxj #Galactic02 pic.twitter.com/LsGhPn1fbl

— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) August 10, 2023

Goodwin is the first on a list of 800 individuals who have bought tickets for a ride on Virgin Galactic's Unity rocket. Some, including Goodwin, have been waiting for over a decade to fly to space.

Anastatia Mayers, meanwhile, became the second youngest person to fly to space. She and her mother become the first people from Antigua to go to space.

A giant leap for space tourism

Virgin Galactic flights allow passengers to experience a few minutes of weightlessness before they descend and make their way back down for a runway landing.

The entire experience, including the runway liftoff, Unity release and flight, and landing, lasts roughly an hour.

Welcome back to Earth, #Galactic02! Our pilots, crew and spaceship have landed smoothly at Spaceport America, New Mexico. pic.twitter.com/rzV1iyvmBA

— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) August 10, 2023

Virgin Galactic's main competitor, Blue Origin, flies tourists to suborbital space using a vertical liftoff rocket called New Shepard.

New Shepard is grounded following an anomaly during an uncrewed science mission last year. However, Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith recently said the company is only a "few weeks" away from launching Blue Shepard again.

That magical moment when your dreams comes true #Galactic02 pic.twitter.com/k5NsNlXb6u

— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) August 10, 2023

Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin both state that one of their main goals is to allow more people to experience the transformative Overview Effect, which describes the positive psychological impact astronauts experience when viewing Earth from space.

This was a live article, and it was updated as new information emerged.