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Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. has named the three passengers for its first flight to take private astronauts to space.
The VSS Unity spacecraft will transport 80-year-old Jon Goodwin, an early Virgin Galactic
SPCE,
ticket holder and Olympian, as well as Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers, a mother and daughter who won their seats on the mission in a draw that raised funds for non-profit Space for Humanity. Schahaff and Mayers are the first mother-daughter duo to fly to space and the first astronauts from the Caribbean, according to Virgin Galactic. Goodwin, who competed as a canoeist for Great Britain at the 1972 Munich Olympics, is the first Olympian and the second person with Parkinson’s disease to go to space, Virgin Galactic said in a statement.
“When I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2014, I was determined not to let it stand in the way of living life to the fullest,” Goodwin said in the statement. “And now for me to go to space with Parkinson’s is completely magical. I hope this inspires all others facing adversity and shows them that challenges don’t have to inhibit or stop them from pursuing their dreams.”
Related: Virgin Galactic’s stock jumps as company sets date for second commercial flight
“When I was 2 years old, just looking up to the skies, I thought, ‘How can I get there?’” Schahaff said in the statement. “But, being from the Caribbean, I didn’t see how something like this would be possible. The fact that I am here, the first to travel to space from Antigua, shows that space really is becoming more accessible.”
Virgin Galactic’s stock rose 1.3% in premarket trades Monday.
The private space company is targeting Aug. 10 for the Galactic 02 mission, which is its second commercial spaceflight and seventh spaceflight. Last month, the Galactic 01 mission transported three crew members from the Italian air force and the National Research Council of Italy into space to conduct research on microgravity.
Related: Virgin Galactic makes first commercial spaceflight, transporting Italian researchers into space
After the Galactic 02 mission, the company said it expects monthly flights to follow. The cost of a trip to space with Virgin Galactic is $450,000, so customers inevitably come from the ranks of the superwealthy. But demand has been brisk, with Virgin Galactic saying that it has around 800 “future astronauts” signed up.
In a filing last month, the company said it’s seeking to raise $400 million to develop its spaceship fleet and infrastructure and scale up its commercial operations.
However, the company reported a bigger-than-expected loss in its most recent quarter. And Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson’s satellite-launch company, Virgin Orbit Holdings Inc. VORWQ, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Related: Virgin Galactic could open up space to ‘everyday people,’ says former NASA astronaut
Virgin Galactic’s stock has risen 9.2% this year, compared with the S&P 500 index’s
SPX,
gain of 17.3%.
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