On Thursday, August 10, Keisha Schahaff and her daughter Anastasia Mayers made history by becoming the first people from the Caribbean to travel to space in VSS Unity, a rocket-powered spacecraft operated by Virgin Galactic.
After years of promises, Richard Branson, a British billionaire who founded Virgin Galactic, finally launched the first space tourists. Keisha Schahaff and her daughter Anastatia Mayers were two of the three passengers in the spacecraft that was attached to a huge twin-fuselage mothership. They won their seats in a raffle held as part of a fundraising effort.
It also featured former Olympian Jon Goodwin, a canoeist who participated in the Munich Summer Olympics in 1972.
The journey marked the company’s second commercial space flight and seventh overall spaceflight. Additionally, it was the initial private passenger launch. It is anticipated that the expedition will last at least 90 minutes.
Who is Keisha Schahaff, and daughter Anastatia Mayers?
Keisha Schahaff looks over at her daughter, Anastatia Mayers, taking in the view aboard Virgin Galactic’s first tourism spaceflight.
They are the first mother and daughter to go to space together. pic.twitter.com/2lmwgbaTxf
— The Recount (@therecount) August 10, 2023
Entrepreneur and health and wellness coach Keisha Schahaff. She is an Antiguan and Barbudan who was born in 1976 or 1977. In a Virgin Galactic drawing in 2021, she won tickets to the Galactic 02 launch, which typically sells for $450,000.
A charity event was held that included the lottery in order to raise money for Space For Humanity. Later that year, Schahaff was presented with a tropical bouquet and a gift bag by Charles Fernandez, the tourism minister. She was promised the full backing of the country as well as assistance from the Ministry of Tourism and Investment for the “phenomenal” trip.
All passengers underwent pre-flight training and a “full medical examination by a physician approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)” before takeoff. According to Schahaff, she has no worries about the expedition.
“When I was two years old, I remember simply staring up at the sky and wondering, ‘How can I get there?'” But because I’m from the Caribbean, I didn’t think it was possible that something like this could happen. I am the first person from Antigua to have traveled to space, proving that it is indeed becoming more accessible. Schahaff has been quoted as saying, “I know my experience will change me, and I hope I can share that energy and inspire those around me—in my role as a life coach, a mother, and as an ambassador for our beautiful planet.
She also has a daughter besides Anastatia.
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