World’s first space tourism flight makes it back to Earth with its three civilian passengers

The world’s inaugural space tourism journey has safely returned to Earth with its trio of civilian passengers. These “space tourists” had an awe-inspiring experience as they ventured to the edge of space onboard Galactic-02, a spacecraft developed by Virgin Galactic. A video released by the company captures their starstruck moments as they gazed out of the spacecraft’s windows, taking in the breathtaking view of our planet from the vast expanse of space.

During a press conference following the historic space journey, 80-year-old passenger Jon Goodwin shared his profound experience, stating that the most captivating aspect was the sight of Earth from space, describing the pure clarity as deeply moving. Goodwin, an adventurer who represented Britain in the 1972 Olympic Games as a canoeist, added that this was undeniably the most thrilling day of his life.

Virgin Galactic highlighted several remarkable milestones achieved by this flight, including the presence of the most women on a single space mission, the first mother-daughter duo in space, the first Olympian in space, the sixth and seventh black women in space, the second person with Parkinson’s to journey to space, the youngest space traveler, and the third oldest person to venture into space.

Keisha Schahaff, the 46-year-old mother of passenger Anastatia, shared her pre-launch experience, recounting the clear skies and the feeling of connection with the universe, as if it was inviting her to participate in this extraordinary journey.

Anastatia Mayers, the 18-year-old passenger, became the youngest person ever to reach space and described the experience as being profoundly connected to everything, feeling like a member of the team, the spacecraft, the universe, and Earth itself. She expressed her continued amazement, saying that she’s still starstruck.

The passengers enjoyed several minutes of weightlessness while floating in space at an altitude of approximately 53 miles (85 kilometers) above sea level. They admired the curvature of our planet from this unique vantage point before the spacecraft gracefully glided back to Earth.

This historic Virgin Galactic flight, the culmination of nearly two decades of work in the field of commercial space tourism, launched from Spaceport America in New Mexico on Thursday, August 10th, and safely returned to the same runway from which it had taken off.