Historic Virgin Galactic mission celebrates successful spaceflight

Keisha Schahaff and her daughter Anastatia Mayers, became the first people from the Caribbean and the sixth and seventh black women in history to venture into space.

The flight, launched from Spaceport America in New Mexico on Thursday, August 10, saw the participation of three veteran astronauts, and marks space tourism company Virgin Galactic’s first mission into space after years of promises.

Schahaff, a native of Antigua and Barbuda, won two tickets worth US$450,000 each when she entered the Virgin Galactic and Omaze Sweepstakes in July 2021. She gifted one of the tickets to her daughter, 18-year-old Anastatia Mayers, who has now become the youngest person ever to go to space.

Speaking at a Virgin Galactic press conference in New Mexico on Thursday, Mayers, describing her experience in space, said: ” Last night, I was actually getting second thoughts. It was like, “what am I doing?” but this morning I knew and felt that I was ready.”

“I definitely think this experience has grounded me and awoken me, I definitely feel more connected to the earth itself and motivated to explore and be even more adventurous,” she added.

Schahaff added: “This experience also has given me this beautiful feeling that if I can do this I can do anything and I just have to keep taking the next step and see what comes.”