Virgin Galactic takes first tourists to edge of space – as British ex-Olympian calls flight ‘most exciting day of my life’

Published

2 years ago

August 11, 2023

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Virgin Galactic has taken its first tourists to the edge of space, with an 80-year-old British ex-Olympian saying the trip “exceeded my wildest dreams”.

On board the VSS Unity were Jon Goodwin, from Newcastle, who had competed in canoeing at the 1972 Games in Munich, Keisha Schahaff, 46, and her 18-year-old daughter Anastatia Mayers, a University of Aberdeen student.

The crew took the passengers about 55 miles (88km) above Earth where they experienced zero gravity during the flight which lasted just over an hour.

Speaking later about the trip, Mr Goodwin said it was a “completely surreal experience” and “the most exciting day of my life”.

Space launch – as it happened

He said: “The most impressive thing was looking at Earth from space, the pure clarity was very moving.”

“It was far more dramatic than I imagined it would be, the pure acceleration was completely surreal,” he said.

Mr Goodwin, who has Parkinson’s disease, said he wanted to show the illness “doesn’t stop you from doing things [that are] not normal”.

“I just hope some good comes out of that.”

The octogenarian bought his ticket for $200,000 in 2005 and was the fourth ever person to do so.

He paid tribute to “the acceptance of Virgin Galactic”.

“When I signed up, I didn’t have Parkinson’s. When, nine years ago, I contracted the disease I thought that’s the end of me going into space.

“They’ve done various health checks but they never stopped me doing what I wanted to do – they need an enormous amount of credit for that,” he said.

Meanwhile, Anastatia Mayers said she had taken a University of Aberdeen pin into space because “they supported me through all of this”. She is studying physics and philosophy at the university.

She said “the experience has grounded me and awoken me – I definitely feel a lot more connected to Earth itself and a lot more motivated to explore and be even more adventurous”.

The mother and daughter, who are from Antigua and Barbuda, won their places in a prize draw.

The pair were the first astronauts from the Caribbean and the first mother and daughter to go into space.

Keisha Schahaff said: “I’m still up there, I’m not here yet, and it’s just amazing that you can land so smoothly on the runway coming back from space. It was so comfortable, it was really the best ride ever, and I would love to do this again.”

Virgin Galactic has opened a new chapter in the story of aviation

It is just 120 years since the Wright brothers strapped themselves to a rickety powered glider and flew all of 36 metres.

Now flying is so routine we barely give it a thought.

But Virgin Galactic has opened a new chapter in the story of aviation, taking its first tourists into space in a plane that’s far sleeker, yet still familiar to anyone jetting back from their summer holiday.

The Unity spaceship has wings, an engine and a passenger cabin. It takes off from a runway – albeit slung beneath the wing of a larger aircraft – and climbs to a cruising altitude before detaching and racing away to space.

Blue Origin, the company founded by Amazon owner Jeff Bezos, already takes tourists to space in a traditional rocket.

It’s certainly an authentic astronaut experience, but it’s a bone-shaking ride through the dense lower atmosphere and not for the faint hearted.

A space plane is a far gentler journey to the heavens.

Rocket or space plane, a ticket to ride is well beyond the means of most of us. But then so were the first holiday flights in traditional aircraft.

It’s only with the dawn of charter flights that prices really came down. The space tourism industry will surely find ways of making similar efficiencies.

You don’t have to look too far into the future – certainly not another 120 years – to see spaceports regularly launching day trippers for an experience of lifetime.

Pilots CJ Sturckow and Kelly Latimer, alongside astronaut instructor Beth Moses, joined the tourists on the VSS Unity, which took off around 8.30am local time (3.30pm UK time) at Spaceport America in New Mexico.

The VSS Unity separated from its carrier plane, the VMS Eve, at 9.17am (4.17pm UK time), at an altitude of about 44,500ft, and ignited its rocket to fire upwards for around a minute.

Just two minutes later, footage from inside VSS Unity showed the passengers out of their seats, weightless and peering at the Earth outside the rocket’s windows.

Further footage from cameras mounted outside of the rocket showed the curvature of the Earth.

The VSS Unity landed at Spaceport America at 9.33am (4.33pm UK time). It was met by applause from those watching on from Virgin Galactic, with the passengers smiling and nodding.

It was Virgin Galactic’s seventh trip to space since 2018, but the first with tourists.

It held its inaugural commercial trip earlier this summer, when three Italian citizens were taken into low orbit for scientific research experiments.

The company, founded by Sir Richard Branson, is set to offer monthly trips to customers on its winged space plane, joining Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the space tourism business.

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Trump’s USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Published

6 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Trump's USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.

Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.

“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.

USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.

The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.

Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.

USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.

Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.

But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.

In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.

The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.

Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.

The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.

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Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Published

9 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.

An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.

The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.

The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.

Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.

Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.

Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.

Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.

The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.

The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.

Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.

Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.

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Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Published

15 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.

The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.

On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”

At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.

The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.

An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.

She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.

The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.

An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.

Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.