Virgin Galactic launched its second commercial suborbital flight, Galactic 02, with three tourists and three crew on board

After a 20-minute flight, the second commercial suborbital flight of billionaire Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic company was completed on Thursday. What’s new about this trip, which was the first to carry tourists on board, was that it landed in the desert of New Mexico (US) without any problems after reaching weightlessness, the company reported.

“Welcome back to Earth, #Galactic02! Our pilots, crew and spacecraft have landed safely in Spaceport America, New Mexico,” the private company confirmed on the social network X (formerly known as Twitter) after about 20 minutes of flight.

Liftoff of the reusable VSS Unity spacecraft was delayed for more than an hour, though it was finally able to take off at 11:20 local time (15:20 GMT) from Spaceport America, New Mexico.

The Tourists traveling aboard the VSS Unity include Britain’s Jon Goodwin, 80, an Olympic and first-time Virgin Galactic card holder, and Keisha Schahaff, 46, and her daughter Anastatia Mayers, 18, from Antigua and Barbuda, who won their seats in a lottery that raised money for the non-profit organization Space for Humanity.

Young Anastatia is in her second year at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, studying philosophy and physics to become an astrobiologist. She told reporters Wednesday night about her feelings of uncertainty about spaceflight. “Last night I thought about it more, but then I woke up and I felt like I was ready,” Mayers said.

Goodwin also spoke to reporters after the historic mission and shared how his Parkinson’s hasn’t stopped him from living his life. He was diagnosed after purchasing his $250,000 ticket for the flight.

The crew included Commander CJ Sturckow, pilot Kelly Latimer, and the Virgin Galactic astronaut instructor who trained the passengers for their flight, Beth Moses.

The aim was to “achieve several historic milestones and advance Virgin Galactic’s mission to expand access to space,” the company said in a statement.

moment of weightlessness

Minutes after takeoff, passengers released their seatbelts to enjoy a moment of weightlessness and then returned to their seats, a live broadcast from the plane’s cockpit.

80-year-old Goodwin, who has been battling Parkinson’s disease since 2014, said in a statement that he hopes to inspire others with similar issues by becoming one of the first Virgin Galactic tourists to embark on a space adventure.

In a video published by Virgin Galactic last Thursday, Keisha Schahaff pointed out that this is a dream come true, as she spent hours watching the skies from the Caribbean since she was a child.

“I can’t wait to fly above the Earth’s atmosphere and experience the different energies here on Earth. Representing my island, Antigua, is a true honor. I hope my journey inspires others to make their dreams come true too,” he said.

VSS Unity did not reach Earth orbit, but its orbit provided passengers with weightlessness for several minutes, at an altitude high enough to see the curvature of the Earth against the darkness of space, according to the specialist media Space.com .

The ship on which the tourists were traveling was launched from the belly of the mother ship, a Virgin Galactic transport aircraft, the VMS Eve.

The latter took VSS Unity to an altitude of about 15,000 meters. At that point, Unity disengaged, started its engine, and ascended into suborbital space. Then it descended like a “glider”, Virgin Galactic qualified during the broadcast.

According to a company statement, Galactic 02 is Virgin Galactic’s seventh spaceflight, its second commercial spaceflight and its first with space tourists.

Last June, Virgin Galactic made its first commercial flight, following a successful 90-minute journey during which it reached the boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and space.