Virgin Galactic has successfully completed the Galactic 02 mission, which launched from Spaceport America in New Mexico. On August 10, 2023, the company sent tourists to the frontier of space.
The Galactic 02 mission was the company’s second commercial suborbital launch, and it also became the first tourist flight into space. In addition, it was the seventh space flight of Virgin Galactic and the third since May of this year.
The pilots on this mission were Kelly Latimer and C.J. Sturckow, and the tourists were Jon Goodwin, Anastatia Mayers, and Keisha Schahaff. They were joined on board by Beth Moses, a Virgin instructor and former NASA astronaut.
There are also several interesting nuances worth noting. First, former Olympian John Goodwin has turned 80. Secondly, Keisha Shahaf and Anastasia Myers are a mother and daughter who won tickets in a lottery held by Virgin Galactic.
The WhiteKnightTwo aircraft climbed to an altitude of 15 km. After that, the VSS Unity spacecraft ascended to an altitude of 80 km on its own, where the American classification marks the boundary of space. The tourists spent several minutes in zero gravity.
