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https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/aug/10/vigin-galactic-space-flight-vss-unity-landing>
"Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity, the reusable rocket-powered space plane carrying
the company’s first crew of tourists to space, successfully launched and landed
on Thursday.
The mission, known as Galactic 02, took off shortly after 11am ET from
Spaceport America in New Mexico.
Aboard the spacecraft were six individuals total – the space plane’s commander
and former Nasa astronaut CJ Sturckow, the pilot Kelly Latimer, as well as Beth
Moses, Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut instructor who trained the crew before
the flight.
The spacecraft also carryied three private passengers, including the health and
wellness coach Keisha Schahaff and her 18-year-old daughter, Anastasia Mayers,
both of whom are Antiguan.
According to Space.com, Schahaff won her seat onboard the Galactic 02 as part
of a fundraising competition by Space for Humanity, a non-profit organization
seeking to democratize space travel. Mayers is studying philosophy and physics
at Aberdeen University in Scotland. Together, Schahaff and Mayers are the first
mother-daughter duo to venture to space together.
“When I was two years old, just looking up to the skies, I thought, ‘How can I
get there?’ But, being from the Caribbean, I didn’t see how something like this
would be possible. The fact that I am here, the first to travel to space from
Antigua, shows that space really is becoming more accessible,” Schahaff said in
a statement last month.
The mission also marks the most women flown in a single mission to space."
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*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
