Virgin Galactic carries first Olympian into space 18 years after ticket purchase

Virgin Galactic flew to the frontier of space on Thursday with its first tourists, including a former British Olympian who bought her ticket 18 years ago and a mother-daughter duo from the Caribbean.

The space plane went back to a runway landing at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert after a brief flight.

This first private customer flight was delayed for years; Its success means Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic could now start offering monthly rides, joining Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and Elon Musk's SpaceX in the space tourism business.

Passenger John Goodwin told the crowd after his flight, "It was the most amazing thing I've ever done in my life."

Goodwin, who was among the first to buy tickets in 2005, said he believed he would someday travel. 80-year-old athlete - He participated in canoeing in the 1972 Olympics.

When Goodwin signed up, ticket prices were $200,000. The cost is now $450,000.

He was joined on the flight by sweepstakes winner Keisha Schaaf, 46, a health coach from Antigua, and her daughter, 18-year-old Anastasia Meyers, a student at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

A childhood dream has come true, said Schaaf. I don't have words. The only thought that went through my mind the whole time was 'Wow!'

With the company's astronaut instructor and one of the two pilots, it marked the first time that women outnumbered men in space flight by four to two.

Families and friends watching below erupted in joy when the vehicle's rocket motor was fired upon release from the lift-off aircraft. The rocket part of the ship's flight lasted about 15 minutes and reached an altitude of 55 miles (88 kilometers).

It was Virgin Galactic's seventh trip to space since 2018, but the first with a ticket holder. Company founder Branson gets on board for the first full-size crewed ride in 2021.

Italian military and government researchers made the first commercial flight in June. There are currently about 800 people on Virgin Galactic's waiting list, according to the company.

Unlike Virgin Galactic's aircraft-launched rocket ship, the capsules used by SpaceX and Blue Origin are fully self-propelled and come back down by parachute.

Like Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin aims for quick takeoff from West Texas, the edge of space. Blue Origin has launched 31 people so far, but flights halted after a rocket accident last fall. The capsule, which contained experiments but no passengers, landed safely.