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Virgin Galactic launched its first space tourists

Galactic-02, Virgin Galactic’s first mission to carry paying civilian customers to space, successfully launched and then landed in New Mexico

By Leah Crane

9 August 2023

The passengers on Virgin Galactic-02 were Anastatia Mayers, Jon Goodwin and Keisha Schahaff

Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic successfully flew its first space tourists aboard the VSS Unity spaceplane. The 10 August mission was the company’s second commercial flight , and the first to carry paying customers instead of trained astronauts.

Virgin Galactic’s launch system has two parts: a huge airplane called VMS Eve and the smaller spaceplane VSS Unity. Eve took off from Spaceport America in New Mexico with Unity tucked underneath it, releasing the spaceplane at an altitude of around 13.5 kilometres.

Then, Unity’s engine ignited and the craft flew to a bit over 80 kilometres – an altitude that is considered the edge of space by the US government , although some scientists consider 100 kilometres the lower boundary of space. The crew got a few minutes of weightlessness before their return to Earth.

The feather has been lowered and VSS Unity is now a glider, headed back to the runway at Spaceport America. #Galactic02 pic.twitter.com/W7lX4GlZRj — Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) August 10, 2023

Why has Virgin Orbit shut down and what will happen to UK spaceports?

Two of the passengers, mother-daughter pair Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers from Antigua and Barbuda, won their seats in a charity raffle. The third was Jon Goodwin, a former Olympic canoeist from the UK, who bought his ticket for about $250,000 in 2005 shortly after Virgin Galactic was founded. As the company’s first launch to space was delayed – it finally happened in 2018 – Goodwin held onto his ticket, and was finally able to cash it in.

The other crew members on the flight, which was named Galactic-02, were astronaut trainer Beth Moses and two pilots, all Virgin Galactic employees. Virgin Galactic officials have previously said that this mission will kick off a regular cadence of launches, approximately one a month, so the firm’s next commercial flight could take place as soon as September.

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Virgin Galactic is finally sending its first tourists to space

TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES, N.M. — Virgin Galactic is taking its first space tourists on a long-delayed rocket ship ride, including a former British Olympian who bought his ticket 18 years ago and a mother-daughter duo from the Caribbean.

The  flight window opens  Thursday morning at Spaceport America in the New Mexico desert for a ride to the edge of space. If all goes well, Richard Branson’s company will begin offering monthly trips to customers on its winged space plane, joining Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the space tourism business.

Virgin Galactic passenger Jon Goodwin, who was among the first to buy a ticket in 2005, said he had faith that he would someday make the trip. The 80-year-old athlete — he competed in canoeing in the 1972 Olympics — has Parkinson’s disease and wants to be an inspiration to others.

“I hope it shows them that these obstacles can be the start rather than the end to new adventures,” he said in a statement.

Ticket prices were $200,000 when Goodwin signed up. The cost is now $450,000.

He’ll be joined by sweepstakes winner Keisha Schahaff, 46, a health coach from Antigua, and her daughter, Anastatia Mayers, 18, student at Scotland’s University of Aberdeen. Also aboard the plane-launched craft, which glides to a space shuttle-like landing: two pilots and the company’s astronaut trainer.

It will be Virgin Galactic’s seventh trip to space since 2018, the first with a ticket-holder. Branson, the company’s founder, hopped on board for  the first full-size crew ride  in 2021. Italian military and government researchers  soared in June  on the first commercial flight. About 800 people are currently on Virgin Galactic’s waiting list, according to the company.

Virgin Galactic’s rocket ship launches from the belly of an airplane, not from the ground, and requires two pilots in the cockpit. Once the mothership reaches about 50,000 feet (about 10 miles), the space plane is released and fires its rocket motor to make the final push to just over 50 miles up. Passengers can unstrap from their seats, float around the cabin for a few minutes and take in the sweeping views of Earth, before the space plane glides back home and lands on a runway.

The Associated Press

Virgin Galactic's first space tourism flight launches today - here's what you need to know

Virgin Galactic is aiming to make these kinds of spaceflights a monthly occurrence, with seats priced between $250,000 (£191,000) and $450,000 (£344,000).

By Tom Acres, technology reporter

Thursday 10 August 2023 08:13, UK

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Virgin Galactic's first space tourism flight launches today, blasting a former Olympian and mother-daughter duo above the Earth.

It follows the company's inaugural commercial trip earlier this summer , when three Italian citizens were taken into low orbit for scientific research experiments.

Thursday's take-off is billed as a recreational endeavour, with some crewmates winning their seats in a prize draw.

Who's on board?

The former Olympian on board is Jon Goodwin, who competed in canoeing at the 1972 Games in Munich.

The 80-year-old, from Newcastle , will be the second person with Parkinson's disease to reach the edge of space.

He said: "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."

Joining him on VSS Unity are Keisha Schahaff, 46, and 18-year-old Anastatia Mayers, who will become the first astronauts - professional or otherwise - from the Caribbean .

They will also be the first mother and daughter to travel on a spaceflight together.

Ms Schahaff is a wellness coach, while her daughter studies philosophy and physics at the University of Aberdeen .

Ms Schahaff said: "I know I'll be changed by my experience.

"I hope I'll be able to share that energy and inspire the people around me - in my role as a life coach, a mother, and ambassador for our beautiful planet."

Of course, the crew won't be heading into space alone.

They'll be joined by pilots CJ Sturckow and Kelly Latimer, alongside astronaut instructor Beth Moses.

Read more: Why billionaires are drawn to 'extreme tourism'

When and where is the launch happening?

The launch will happen at Spaceport America in New Mexico , with the window for take-off opening at 4pm UK time.

Similarly to how the now-defunct Virgin Orbit carried a rocket skyward from Newquay back in January , it will see VSS Unity attached to a plane.

Once the plane has taken off from the runway and hit release altitude, the spacecraft will be released and use its powerful rocket engine to shoot up to around 50 miles above the Earth.

Those piloting the plane, known as VMS Eve, will not reach space.

The duo, Nicola Pecile and Mike Masucci, will instead head straight back to the runway.

The crew who do carry on into orbit will experience five minutes of weightlessness and some great views, before heading home.

The whole flight will only take around 90 minutes.

Read more: Satellite deliberately crashed in world first International Space Station is 'dangerously dusty' New phone wallpaper? See stunning new image of dying star

How can I watch it?

You can watch a live stream of the launch on the Sky News website, app, and YouTube channel .

If you can't watch it live, you'll be able to catch it later on demand.

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Will there be more flights like this in future?

Virgin Galactic is aiming to carry out monthly private flights, with seats priced between $250,000 (£191,000) and $450,000 (£344,000).

It means the next flight could happen as soon as September.

For anyone without such riches to call upon, they'll have to rely on other opportunities.

Ms Schahaff and her daughter won their seats in a contest to raise funds for Space for Humanity, a non-profit group that aims to send ordinary citizens into space to give them a "grander perspective" on the challenges facing Earth.

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The World’s First Space Tourist Plans a Return Trip—This Time to the Moon

F ew people had heard of aerospace engineer and financial analyst Dennis Tito before 2001. That was the year Tito, then 60, became the first paying space tourist, cutting a $20 million check to Russia to fly aboard a Soyuz spacecraft and spend a week aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Since then, Tito has remained Earthbound, but has never quite shaken the adventuring bug. Now, he is planning to return to space—this time traveling to the moon, a route nobody but the Apollo astronauts have ever flown.

As SpaceNews , CNN , and others report, Tito, now 82, and his wife Akiko, have both inked a deal to travel on a one-week journey aboard SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft, along with up to 10 other paying passengers. They will be flying a path that will take them around the far side of the moon and slingshot them back home. The amount Tito and his wife are paying for their seats aboard the ship has not been disclosed.

The Starship is a 50 m (164 ft.) tall stainless steel spacecraft that launches atop SpaceX’s 69 m (226 ft.) Super Heavy booster. While the the rocket has never flown before, SpaceX hopes to launch it on its first, uncrewed Earth-orbital mission as early as next month. Following that, the Starship-Super Heavy pair will make its first crewed flight—also Earth orbital—in 2024 or 2025. Tito’s circumlunar flight would come sometime after that.

Just this week, SpaceX rolled the Super Heavy booster out to the launch pad at its Boca Chica, Texas, launch base, and stacked the Starship spacecraft on top. It was the first time the two segments of the giant machine had been mated. Together they make a formidable sight, towering 120 m (394 ft.) high—or a good seven stories taller than NASA’s mega moon rocket , the Space Launch System (SLS). Starship is also significantly more powerful than the SLS. Starship’s 33, methane-fueled engines put out 7.2 million kg (16 million lb.) of thrust, nearly double that of NASA’s 6-engine rocket, which produces 4 million kg (8.8 million lb.).

Tito will make his journey aboard an identical machine—indeed, it could be the exact same one, since both the Starship and Super Heavy are designed to be reusable. In some respects, he surprised himself by deciding to make the trip at all. Until recently, he said in a call with reporter, he had hadn’t been planning to return to space, but, “over time, watching the developments of SpaceX and just what they were doing fascinated me.”

Last year, he began discussions with SpaceX, and told the company he would like to fly again, though not merely to the ISS. “‘I would be interested in going to the moon,'” he recalls saying. “And then I looked over to Akiko, and we had a little eye contact, and she goes, ‘Yeah, me too.’”

For the record, Tito says that after this mission, he really, truly will be retiring from the spaceflight game.

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The Future of Space Tourism Is Now. Well, Not Quite.

From zero-pressure balloon trips to astronaut boot camps, reservations for getting off the planet — or pretending to — are skyrocketing. The prices, however, are still out of this world.

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By Debra Kamin

Ilida Alvarez has dreamed of traveling to space since she was a child. But Ms. Alvarez, a legal-mediation firm owner, is afraid of flying, and she isn’t a billionaire — two facts that she was sure, until just a few weeks ago, would keep her fantasy as out of reach as the stars. She was wrong.

Ms. Alvarez, 46, and her husband, Rafael Landestoy, recently booked a flight on a 10-person pressurized capsule that — attached to a massive helium-filled balloon — will gently float to 100,000 feet while passengers sip champagne and recline in ergonomic chairs. The reservation required a $500 deposit; the flight itself will cost $50,000 and last six to 12 hours.

“I feel like it was tailor-made for the chickens like me who don’t want to get on a rocket,” said Ms. Alvarez, whose flight, organized by a company called World View , is scheduled to depart from the Grand Canyon in 2024.

Less than a year after Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson kicked off a commercial space race by blasting into the upper atmosphere within weeks of each other last summer, the global space tourism market is skyrocketing, with dozens of companies now offering reservations for everything from zero-pressure balloon trips to astronaut boot camps and simulated zero-gravity flights. But don’t don your spacesuit just yet. While the financial services company UBS estimates the space travel market will be worth $3 billion by 2030, the Federal Aviation Administration has yet to approve most out-of-this-world trips, and construction has not started on the first space hotel. And while access and options — not to mention launchpads — are burgeoning, space tourism remains astronomically expensive for most.

First, what counts as space travel?

Sixty miles (about 100 kilometers) above our heads lies the Kármán line, the widely accepted aeronautical boundary of the earth’s atmosphere. It’s the boundary used by the Féderátion Aéronautique Internationale, which certifies and controls global astronautical records. But many organizations in the United States, including the F.A.A. and NASA, define everything above 50 miles to be space.

Much of the attention has been focused on a trio of billionaire-led rocket companies: Mr. Bezos’ Blue Origin , whose passengers have included William Shatner; Mr. Branson’s Virgin Galactic , where tickets for a suborbital spaceflight start at $450,000; and Elon Musk’s SpaceX , which in September launched an all-civilian spaceflight, with no trained astronauts on board. Mr. Branson’s inaugural Virgin Galactic flight in 2021 reached about 53 miles, while Blue Origin flies above the 62-mile mark. Both are eclipsed by SpaceX, whose rockets charge far deeper in to the cosmos, reaching more than 120 miles above Earth.

Balloons, like those operated by World View, don’t go nearly as high. But even at their maximum altitude of 18 or 19 miles, operators say they float high enough to show travelers the curvature of the planet, and give them a chance to experience the overview effect — an intense perspective shift that many astronauts say kicks in when you view Earth from above.

Now, how to get there …

Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, which are both licensed for passenger space travel by the F.A.A., are open for ticket sales. (Blue Origin remains mum on pricing.) Both companies currently have hundreds or even thousands of earthlings on their wait lists for a whirl to the edge of space. SpaceX charges tens of millions of dollars for its further-reaching flights and is building a new facility in Texas that is currently under F.A.A. review.

Craig Curran is a major space enthusiast — he’s held a reserved seat on a Virgin Galactic flight since 2011 — and the owner of Deprez Travel in Rochester, N.Y. The travel agency has a special space travel arm, Galactic Experiences by Deprez , through which Mr. Curran sells everything from rocket launch tickets to astronaut training.

Sales in the space tourism space, Mr. Curran acknowledges, “are reasonably difficult to make,” and mostly come from peer-to-peer networking. “You can imagine that people who spend $450,000 to go to space probably operate in circles that are not the same as yours and mine,” he said.

Some of Mr. Curran’s most popular offerings include flights where you can experience the same stomach-dropping feeling of zero gravity that astronauts feel in space, which he arranges for clients via chartered, specialized Boeing 727s that are flown in parabolic arcs to mimic being in space. Operators including Zero G also offer the service; the cost is around $8,200.

You can almost count the number of completed space tourist launches on one hand — Blue Origin has had four; SpaceX, two. Virgin Galactic, meanwhile, on Thursday announced the launch of its commercial passenger service, previously scheduled for late 2022, was delayed until early 2023. Many of those on waiting lists are biding their time before blastoff by signing up for training. Axiom Space, which contracts with SpaceX, currently offers NASA-partnered training at Houston’s Johnson Space Center. Virgin Galactic, which already offers a “customized Future Astronaut Readiness program” at its Spaceport America facility in New Mexico, is also partnering with NASA to build a training program for private astronauts.

Would-be space tourists should not expect the rigor that NASA astronauts face. Training for Virgin Galactic’s three-hour trips is included in the cost of a ticket and lasts a handful of days; it includes pilot briefings and being “fitted for your bespoke Under Armour spacesuit and boots,” according to its website.

Not ready for a rocket? Balloon rides offer a less hair-raising celestial experience.

“We go to space at 12 miles an hour, which means that it’s very smooth and very gentle. You’re not rocketing away from earth,” said Jane Poynter, a co-founder and co-chief executive of Space Perspective , which is readying its own touristic balloon spaceship, Spaceship Neptune. If all goes according to plan, voyages are scheduled to begin departing from Florida in 2024, at a cost of $125,000 per person. That’s a fraction of the price tag for Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, but still more than double the average annual salary of an American worker.

Neither Space Perspective nor World View has the required approval yet from the F.A.A. to operate flights.

Unique implications

Whether a capsule or a rocket is your transport, the travel insurance company battleface launched a civilian space insurance plan in late 2021, a direct response, said chief executive Sasha Gainullin, to an increase in space tourism interest and infrastructure. Benefits include accidental death and permanent disablement in space and are valid for spaceflights on operators like SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, as well as on stratospheric balloon rides. They’ve had many inquiries, Mr. Gainullin said, but no purchases just yet.

“Right now it’s such high-net-worth individuals who are traveling to space, so they probably don’t need insurance,” he said. “But for quote-unquote regular travelers, I think we’ll see some takeups soon.”

And as the industry grows, so perhaps will space travel’s impact on the environment. Not only do rocket launches have immense carbon footprints, even some stratospheric balloon flights have potentially significant implications: World View’s balloons are powered by thousands of cubic meters of helium, which is a limited resource . But Ted Parson, a professor of environmental law at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that space travel’s environmental impact is still dwarfed by civil aviation. And because space travel is ultra-niche, he believes it’s likely to stay that way.

“Despite extensive projections, space tourism is likely to remain a tiny fraction of commercial space exploration,” he said. “It reminds me of tourism on Mt. Everest. It’s the indulgence of very rich people seeking a transcendent, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and the local environmental burden is intense.”

Stay a while?

In the future, space enthusiasts insist, travelers won’t be traveling to space just for the ride. They’ll want to stay a while. Orbital Assembly Corporation, a manufacturing company whose goal is to colonize space, is currently building the world’s first space hotels — two ring-shaped properties that will orbit Earth, called Pioneer Station and Voyager Station. The company, quite optimistically, projects an opening date of 2025 for Pioneer Station, with a capacity of 28 guests. The design for the larger Voyager Station , which they say will open in 2027, promises villas and suites, as well as a gym, restaurant and bar. Both provide the ultimate luxury: simulated gravity. Axiom Space , a space infrastructure company, is currently building the world’s first private space station; plans include Philippe Starck-designed accommodations for travelers to spend the night.

Joshua Bush, chief executive of travel agency Avenue Two Travel , has sold a handful of seats on upcoming Virgin Galactic flights to customers. The market for space travel (and the sky-high prices that come with it), he believes, will evolve much like civilian air travel did.

“In the beginning of the 20th century, only very affluent people could afford to fly,” he said. “Just as we have Spirit and Southwest Airlines today, there will be some sort of equivalent of that in space travel, too. Hopefully within my lifetime.”

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Blue Origin brought the first official tourists to space

After more than 20 years of preparation, Blue Origin is flying paying customers into space.

By Charlie Wood | Published Jul 20, 2021 5:11 PM EDT

A Blue Origin New Shepard rocket blasted off from the flat Texas desert this morning. It was Blue Origin’s 16th time launching the New Shepard model and the third time this particular rocket and capsule have risen to the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere. But it was the first time the vehicle carried passengers, including a paying customer. 

Fortunately, the flight went according to plan. The New Shepard fired its engines and rose to an altitude of about 66 miles in a matter of minutes, a round capsule detaching from the rocket below along the way. The crew experienced a few minutes of weightlessness as their capsule coasted to a halt and then fell back toward the Earth. After the rocket touched back down on the landing pad, three parachutes erupted from the capsule and hovered above it like gigantic blue and red jellyfish as the vehicle landed in a puff of dust. 

Ten minutes and 18 seconds after it began, the experience ended, and Blue Origin personnel opened the capsule and guided the newly minted astronauts to a scrum of family and well-wishers waiting to congratulate them. 

“It was picture-perfect,” said Gary Lai, the lead designer of the New Shepard rocket, during the live stream . 

Four astronauts

Blue Origin’s milestone first human flight carried four astronauts above the Karman line , the internationally recognized (but somewhat contentious) boundary between Earth’s atmosphere and outer space, 62 miles above the surface of the Earth. 

The most prominent passenger was Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon and Blue Origin and the world’s richest person. A lifelong space enthusiast, he has personally funded much of Blue Origin’s 20-year endeavor to make human spaceflight more common by selling around $1 billion of Amazon stock annually , according to Reuters . 

And Bezos may have been imagining this moment even longer than that. In the first place, he may have been driven to found Amazon to enrich himself enough to bankroll a space endeavor like Blue Origin, according to his high school girlfriend .  

“Best day ever,” he said on the live stream after exiting the capsule earlier today.

Bezos also invited his brother, Mark Bezos, a marketing executive and volunteer firefighter, along for the ride. “What a remarkable opportunity, not only to be able to have this opportunity but also to be able to do it with my best friend,” he said in an Instagram video . 

The flight made history with its next two passengers, Wally Funk and Oliver Daemen, who became the oldest and youngest astronauts at 82 years old and 18 years old, respectively . 

The experience held extra significance for Funk, who trained to become an astronaut with NASA in 1961 with a group of women officially known as the Mercury 13 (and unofficially known as the FLATs: First Lady Astronaut Trainees). NASA did not send the women into space, but Funk has been looking for a ride off this rock ever since, even putting down a deposit with Virgin Galactic in 2010 , according to The New York Times . Today she got her wish. 

“I’ve been waiting a long time to finally get up there,” Funk said in a press conference after the flight . “We had a great time, the four of us. I want to go again—fast.” 

The now-youngest human to visit space was a last-minute addition to the crew. When an as-yet anonymous winner of an auction for the seat, who bid $28 million for the experience, backed out due to “scheduling conflicts,” Daemen, a Dutch student, was bumped up from a later flight. His father, Joes Daemen, a Dutch hedge fund manager, bought the seat from Blue Origin for an unknown price. 

[Related: Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin will bring science along on their joyrides]

The return of space tourism

Space tourism was once an almost routine event. Starting with engineer and entrepreneur Dennis Tito in 2001 , a company called Space Adventures brokered almost annual trips to the International Space Station on the Russian Soyuz spacecraft. But the program stopped when the space shuttle program started to wind down and rides to the ISS became too precious to sell—even for the going price of $20 to $40 million . 

Now it’s back, and with more ways to leave the planet than before. In addition to Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic flew four employees ( and a few plants ) into suborbital space, although not quite to the Karman line, on its first fully crewed flight just over a week ago, and will likely send paying customers on the next jaunt. And SpaceX has partnered with Space Adventures with the intention of sending customers into orbit, a significantly harder technical challenge.  

Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, and SpaceX are all owned by billionaires—two of which periodically trade off the title of world’s richest human. All three companies have faced criticism for pursuing what amounts to a tourism experience for the super-rich while the world grapples with climate change, the pandemic, and other challenges. 

Bezos, for his part, called such criticisms “largely right,” according to The Guardian . “We have lots of problems here and now on Earth and we need to work on those, and we also need to look to the future, we’ve always done that as a species and as a civilization,” he continued. “We have to do both.”

While Musk dreams of an independent and self-sufficient city on Mars that will make humanity a “multiplanetary” civilization, Bezos has long envisioned a world where millions of humans live and work in large orbital settlements whose economies would be tightly linked with Earth’s—a future one could call “super-planetary.”

In the present, Blue Origin plans to sell more tickets for more suborbital launches. Riding high on today’s successful mission, the company may send up two more New Shepard rockets this year.

“Not only did we do it today, but we can do it again and again and again and again,” Lai said.

Charlie is a journalist covering developments in the physical sciences both on and off the planet. In addition to Popular Science , his work has appeared in Quanta Magazine , Scientific American , The Christian Science Monitor, and other publications. Previously, he taught physics and English in Mozambique and Japan, and studied physics at Brown University. You can view his website here .

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SpaceX's first space tourists have returned to Earth, splashing down inside the Crew Dragon spaceship

• SpaceX's first space tourists have returned to Earth and splashed down off the coast of Florida.
• The amateurs on the Inspiration4 mission orbited Earth for three days aboard a Crew Dragon spaceship .
• It was the world's first all-tourist flight to orbit, but SpaceX already has another planned.

SpaceX and its four passengers have emerged victorious at the conclusion of the world's first all-tourist flight to orbit.

The company's Crew Dragon spaceship splashed down off the coast of Florida on Saturday at 7:06 p.m. ET, carrying four amateur spacefarers: billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman, geoscientist and science communicator Dr. Sian Proctor, physician-assistant Hayley Arceneaux, and engineer Chris Sembroski. None of them are professional astronauts.

"That was a heck of a ride for us, and we're just getting started," Isaacman said on the livestream after the splashdown.

The unlikely quartet came together after Isaacman chartered the flight from SpaceX and gave away three seats through a raffle and fund-raising partnership with St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He called the mission Inspiration4.

The motley crew spent three days orbiting Earth aboard the Dragon capsule. They flew as high as 367 miles (590 kilometers) — farther from the planet than anyone has traveled since the Space Shuttle era. They took cognitive tests and scanned their organs with an ultrasound for scientific research. Sembroski played ukelele. Proctor made art. They all admired the views 

On Saturday evening, the Crew Dragon fired its thrusters to push itself into a high-speed plummet to Earth. Tiles on the spaceship's underbelly protected its passengers as friction superheated the atmosphere around it to a 3,500-degree-Fahrenheit plasma.

A few miles above Earth's surface, parachutes ballooned from the capsule, likely giving the passengers a significant jolt as the spaceship slowed its fall.

Related stories

The Crew Dragon dropped into the Atlantic Ocean and bobbed there like a toasted marshmallow, caked in soot from the fiery descent. It's not the first time this particular capsule, named Resilience, has weathered such a fall: It's the same ship that flew SpaceX's first full astronaut crew to the International Space Station for NASA last year, then brought them home in May.

Recovery crews in boats swarmed the scene to pull the spaceship out of the water and help the travelers climb out.

SpaceX has opened the doors to private space tourism

The Inspiration4 crew's safe return is a major step in a new era of space tourism.

NASA didn't run this mission; SpaceX did, to Isaacman's specifications. He chose the length of the flight, the altitude, the crew, and their activities in orbit. He even contributed his own idea — a climb up Mount Rainier — to their nearly six-month training regimen .

SpaceX already has another tourist flight lined up for January. For that mission, called AX-1, the company Axiom Space chartered a Crew Dragon to take customers to the space station for eight days.

The AX-1 crew includes real-estate investor Larry Connor, Canadian investor Mark Pathy, and former Israeli fighter pilot Eytan Stibbe. Axiom Space's vice president, former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría, will command the mission.

For now, SpaceX is the only entity that can launch people to orbit from the US. In October, it's set to launch another astronaut crew for NASA — the third of six Crew Dragon flights the agency has purchased.

SpaceX developed this spaceship through NASA's Commercial Crew Program, a competition that awarded funding to facilitate the development of commercial spacecraft.

The program also funded Boeing to develop a human-rated spaceship, but that vehicle has been bogged down in technical issues and delays. It still needs to complete an uncrewed test flight to the ISS before it can fly people.

In the meantime, SpaceX ended the US's nine-year hiatus in domestic human spaceflight in May 2020, when Crew Dragon flew two NASA astronauts to the ISS. NASA has also tapped SpaceX to land its next astronauts on the moon.

Elon Musk, who founded SpaceX in 2002, aims to someday send the company's vehicles all the way to Mars and build a settlement there.

Isaacman shares that vision.

"I'm a true believer," Isaacman said in a February press conference. "I drank the Kool-Aid in terms of the grand ambition for humankind being a multi-planetary species. And I think that we all want to live in a Star Wars, Star Trek world where people are jumping in their spacecraft, and I know that that's going to come. But there has to be that first step, which is what Inspiration4 represents."

Watch: VIDEO: The first all-civilian crew launches into orbit aboard SpaceX's Dragon capsule

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NASA Johnson Space Center to Host Visit by Texas Governor Greg Abbott

Johnson Space Center Office of Communications

Johnson space center.

March 22, 2024

NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will host a Tuesday, March 26, visit by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who will make a major announcement on the future of the space industry in Texas.

Media are invited to document the governor’s tour of NASA’s Mission Control Center when he speaks with native Texan and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara aboard the International Space Station.

Abbott will be joined by NASA Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche, Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, Texas Representative Greg Bonnen and other state and space industry leaders.

U.S. media wishing to attend in person must respond to NASA’s Johnson Space Center by 5 p.m. CDT Monday, March 25, by calling the Johnson Newsroom at 281-483-5111 or e-mailing [email protected] . Media must arrive at Johnson’s main gate no later than 9:30 a.m. March 26 to pick up credentials and receive instructions.

NASA will provide live coverage of the Mission Control tour and call to the space station beginning at 10:15 a.m. on  NASA+ , NASA Television, the  NASA app , and the agency’s website . Learn how to  stream NASA TV  through a variety of platforms including social media.

The space industry announcement is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. in NASA’s Space Vehicle Mockup Facility.

Discover more about NASA Johnson, the hub of human spaceflight, at:

https://www.nasa.gov/johnson/about-johnson/

Kelly Humphries Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

[email protected]

Horses for Courses: Find space for Tony Finau at Memorial Park in Houston

Horses for Courses

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After four weeks in Florida, the PGA TOUR heads to Texas for the first of four events this spring. Houston and its proud golfing history will be in the leadoff spot, followed by the historic Texas Valero Open in San Antonio event next week and two more to come in May.

Memorial Park Golf Course, host of the Texas Children’s Houston Open, was designed by John Bredemus in the early 1930s, and redesigned by Tom Doak in 2019 for a return to the PGA TOUR schedule. The previous three events all took place in November.

The par-70 public track will play 7,435 yards, the longest of the four editions. Remember, any events played this century before 2020 were not held at Memorial Park. Don’t cross the streams!

Tony Finau (+2200 at BetMGM) is the only former champion in the field this week. The big hitter’s affinity for large, municipal courses is well documented from his success here (win, T24 in three visits) and at Torrey Pines (South) for the Farmers Insurance Open annually. Setting the tournament scoring record (16-under) and tying the course record (62) in Round 2, the five-time TOUR winner should be excited for his defense. Cashing T24 on debut in November of 2020, he has posted eight rounds in the red in 10 career loops.

Players listed are in the field this week; 2023 season stats.

Generous landing areas off the tees, combined with minimal rough framing the fairways, should favor the power players this week. Memorial Park provides an average fairway width of 30 to 40 yards. New this season, the primary rough will barely measure over an inch. With only 21 bunkers and water penalty areas on just four holes, inaccuracy will not be as penal as the three previous editions nor the four previous weeks in Florida. Of course, the breeze will blow, as it always does in the Lone Star State, but the generous landing areas in the fairways and 7,000 square foot (on average) Poa trivialis overseeded greens should favor the longest and most accurate.

Scottie Scheffler (+275) is approaching Tiger Woods-esque pre-tournament numbers at BetMGM. A winner on TOUR the last two times he’s teed it up, the former Texas Longhorn returns to Houston to a track where he’s hit the top 10 in his last two visits. Posting the first 62 since the 2019 redesign, the Dallas resident held his first 54-hole lead here in the fall of 2021 before finishing T2. Returning for the 2022 event, he added a T9. Never missing the cut in the three previous editions, I can’t find a reason to fade him this week based on course history. Posting red figures seven times in 12 rounds, a ball-striking challenge is suited to his game.

Par-5 Scoring Average

Ranking in the top 11 most difficult courses in scoring average over the first three editions, Memorial Park appears to be painting a calmer picture for 2024. The par-70 set-up has five par 3s and three par 5s. Measuring 585, 625 and 576 yards, the extra par 5 would suggest another scoring chance. But the shortest one of the bunch, the 16th, ranks as one of the most difficult par-5 holes on TOUR annually. The players who can handle the wind and the length will have a chance to gain ground on the field. The trio ranked T1 most difficult after the 2020 edition, second most difficult the following year, and T10 in 2022.

Jason Day (+2500) has not missed the weekend in three visits to the municipal course, located just eight miles from downtown. Playing in the final group in 2020, he cashed T7. The three-time winner in Texas posted four rounds in the 60s in the 2022 edition to cash T16. In 12 loops, he has found red numbers eight times.

Par-3 Scoring Average

Given a choice of par 3, par 4 or par 5 holes for scoring, the numbers tell us the five par 3s, over the three-year average, provide the most favorable scoring chances. Ranking in mid-pack over the first two editions, three of the five holes measure 182 yards or less. The other two, one on each nine, stretch to 216 yards and 237 yards and will need more attention.

Posting seven rounds of eight at par or better, Joel Dahmen (+6600) has cashed inside the top 10 in both of his visits. Closing with 65 in the 2021 edition, he returned the following season and added three more rounds in the 60s to take home a share of ninth place.

Oddsmaker’s Extras

Keith Mitchell (+2800) has needed three events to figure out Memorial Park, but his last visit in 2022 suggests he has. Posting four rounds of 70 or better, he opened with 66 and closed with 68 to share ninth.

Mackenzie Hughes (+5000) has never finished outside the top 30 in three previous visits. Posting 68-63 on the weekend of the first tournament in 2020, the Canadian vaulted into the top 10 (T7), his best result. The next two seasons, he posted four of eight rounds in the 60s (T29, T16), and his worst score was just 71.

Aaron Rai (+5000) will look to carry his streak of T19 or better finishes for a third consecutive event in Space City. Opening with 71 on his first loop, the Englishman produced seven consecutive rounds of par or better, including 64 in Round 2 of 2022 (T7).

Stephan Jaeger (+5000) signed for T35 in 2021. The German returned with four rounds at par or better in the 2022 edition and cashed T9. Red numbers take up four of the eight total rounds on two scorecards.

Alex Smalley (+15000) played his final 54 holes in nine-under to share fourth in 2022 after posting three rounds in the 60s to share 15th in 2021. Now, about his current form…

Sponsor’s exemption Adam Long (+40000) posted T11 twice in the first two editions before missing the weekend in 2022. Everyone needs a longshot!

Top 10 from 2022 not mentioned above:

• Solo second: Tyson Alexander
• Solo third: Ben Taylor
• T4: Alex Noren
• T9: Joseph Bramlett
• T9: Gary Woodland

Odds courtesy of BETMGM.

For resources to overcome a gambling problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER today.

1st Boeing Starliner astronauts are ready to launch to the ISS for NASA (exclusive)

"I've jokingly said I could do a barrel roll around the space station."

HOUSTON — Two former U.S. Navy test pilots, now NASA astronauts, can't wait to finally get their hands on a new spacecraft.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams told Space.com and a small group of reporters at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) that they are excited for the first launch of Boeing Starliner , now set to fly to the International Space Station for a roughly 10-day mission set to go no earlier than May 1.

Wilmore, who has 8,000 flight hours and two space missions under his belt, said Friday (March 22) he'll be comparing the handling and rolling qualities of Starliner to see if it matches up with the simulators he's been training on for numerous years.

Differences "may or may not be a negative," he said in a sunny, glassed-in conference room at JSC's Building 2 and press center, "but it will be a difference that we will fix in our simulation, and go from there." 

Related: Boeing's 1st Starliner astronaut flight test for NASA could launch as soon as May 1

Boeing's Starliner and SpaceX's Dragon were selected by NASA for commercial crew missions in 2014 to replace the space shuttle, which Wilmore and Williams both used for their first missions. 

Dragon has flown 11 operational missions to the ISS for NASA and Axiom Space since 2020, but Starliner's progress snagged . An uncrewed test flight with Starliner failed to reach the ISS in 2019, the pandemic delayed fixes for a second successful test flight, and other technical issues with parachutes and wiring uncovered last year delayed the first astronaut excursion, known as Crew Flight Test (CFT), even further.

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The CFT astronauts emphasized that safety necessitated the delays, and talked about how robust Starliner is after all the design changes. For example, Wilmore said the whole mission could be flown "with no communication at all" with Mission Control if truly necessary. The engineers also built in scenarios where the astronauts could direct the spacecraft to point to the sun to gain more solar power, should there be a need for it. And these are just some of the backups in place.

Wilmore said the second commercial crew vehicle will allow "continued access to space" from American soil, which is important. NASA relied upon Russian Soyuz spacecraft to launch astronauts for a decade while Dragon was under development; in fact, both Williams and Wilmore flew aboard Soyuz on past missions.

The U.S. and Russia continue to use each other's vehicles for astronaut launches, for both backup reasons and for policy reasons, but that may change after 2028 if Russia withdraws from the ISS as planned. (The rest of the coalition has signed on to 2030, although that may extend if new commercial space stations aren't ready.) 

Wilmore also said the lessons learned from Starliner will help NASA's Artemis program of moon exploration missions, which uses the Lockheed Martin-built Orion spacecraft. "There will be some things or findings, potentially, that we can find here that will be of benefit to their program so they don't have to figure it out themselves," Wilmore said, pointing to examples like the display technology and the operations practice. 

He's confident Starliner will perform as expected. "Don't get me trouble, but I've jokingly said I could do a barrel roll around the space station. We would never do that. No reason to do that! But the capability of this spacecraft? It's there."

Related: Boeing's 1st Starliner to visit space station looks spectacular in these astronaut photos

Williams, in an separate interview minutes later and in an office just down the hall from Wilmore, said the NASA astronauts have been working closely for years with Boeing to get Starliner set. The astronauts' feedback has been taken into account with design "trades," meaning decisions about how to prioritize aspects such as astronaut comfort, or spacecraft performance, or even sizing of displays.

Spaceflight, emphasized Williams, is not risk-free: She was at the agency when the Columbia disaster occurred in 2003, killing seven astronauts during the space shuttle's re-entry, and she also remembers the 1986 launch disaster of Challenger in which another seven astronauts died. 

But while Starliner has not flown yet with astronauts, "knowing all those lessons learned, we've tried to put this 'Get Out of Jail Free card' — as we call it — (which is) the backup mode. We tried to make it (backup) as robust as possible, and we feel really good about it," Williams said.

"All the other stuff than the nominal mission," she continued, "we've gone through it a number of times. We're hoping all the automation works as advertised, but we have ways to, you know, work around it in case we have a couple of hiccups here and there. Then hopefully, we can jump right back in the automation and continue the mission as designed. So we feel really confident about it at this point."

Williams, who has 3,000 hours of flight time in her career, said there will be moments of fun during the Starliner mission: "It's like a little sports car", she said of Starliner's maneuverability against shuttle or Soyuz. The astronauts, however, will be focused upon all the points of the mission in which trouble could happen. 

Staging of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket bearing them to space is one example she highlighted, but given the thousands of hours of practice she said she expects all will turn out well even in most off-nominal situations.

"We talked to the weather guys" in case of abort, she said, as an example. "We really want to know what the winds and waves and all that kind of stuff are like after staging, in case something happens ... because every time there was a dynamic event (like staging) the instructors would fail something (in the simulators)."

Williams, an avid skier, joked that staying off the slopes for an extended period was one of the hardest parts of the wait for space as the crew needs to de-risk its activities in the meantime. But the astronauts have had an important role in those extra years, serving as quality assurance because "our eyes are on the spacecraft."

Related: New NASA astronauts 'thrilled' to see 1st Boeing Starliner crew launch in May (exclusive)

The training also very much involves the next group of astronauts set to climb aboard Starliner for its first operational and six-month mission, currently set for 2025. Assigned so far to the Starliner-1 mission are NASA astronauts Scott Tingle and Mike Fincke, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk. Starliner-1 will be Tingle's second mission, Fincke's fourth mission and Kutryk's first. 

Fincke, who at one point was assigned to Crew Flight Test himself, has worked on the "endeavor" of getting Starliner off the ground longer than any other astronaut, Wilmore emphasized in a press conference in a briefing room here in Building 2. 

Fincke remains backup for the Crew Flight Test astronauts in case of issues with the prime crew, too. Practically speaking, what this means is Fincke is often training alongside Wilmore and Williams.

"It's been a real luxury, because we're sharing ideas the whole time, and he's taking notes and and making changes and getting ready for the next flight," Williams said during the same press conference.

Kutryk, a test pilot and fighter pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force before joining CSA in 2017, said the entire team behind CFT is working the same principles as he learned in the military: "Predict, test, validate." 

Aside from flying on Starliner-1, Kutryk will be Mission Control CAPCOM (an astronaut on the ground who communicates with crew members in space) during the ascent of CFT and as such is also deeply embedded in the training for the first astronaut flight. In fact, he's been doing the work quietly since 2021, although his Starliner-1 assignment was only announced last fall.

"What we want to see happen (during CFT) is the performance of this vehicle match our understanding," he said during a phone call on Friday, while on a school and media tour in Canada discussing Starliner-1 and ISS. 

"We wanted to match our modeling of Starliner at a system level or vehicle performance level. We want to validate those models. We want to reinforce confidence in the fact that we understand the vehicle, and all of its different modes."

—  NASA, Boeing hail Starliner space capsule launch success despite thruster glitch

 — Boeing's Starliner crew capsule channels R2-D2 ahead of astronaut test flight

 — NASA, Boeing delay Starliner capsule's 1st astronaut launch to early May

The crew and ground team "are super excited" about CFT, and Kutryk said he's looking forward to supporting the launch (and perhaps some other shifts, if needed) from the White Flight Control Room at JSC's Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center.

Bringing humans on board Starliner for the first time will introduce new metrics to track compared to the two uncrewed test flights, he said, such as cockpit noise levels, how well the vehicle can be controlled, or the performance of the life support equipment.

"In the years that have led up to this point, we've been working as a team to test and evaluate the vehicle, and our procedures, and our reactions, and our training. Where needed, we've refined all of that," Kutryk said. "We've ended up changing software, changing things on the vehicle and changing training. It's been a long iterative process — as you'd expect, I would say — in flight test."

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, " Why Am I Taller ?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace

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The Kid Laroi Announces The First Time 2024 North American Tour: Here Are the Dates

The Kid Laroi is hitting the road. In celebration of his November album The First Time , the 20-year-old singer-songwriter has announced plans to embark on a North American tour, unveiling all 31 dates on social media Monday (March 25).

The Australian musician will kick off the North American leg May 18 in Vancouver, B.C., after which he'll travel through Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York City, Toronto and more cities in the States and Canada. After about two months, Laroi will conclude with a show in Omaha July 10.

Glaive and Chase Shakur are on board to serve as openers for the trek. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time (March 29) on Live Nation's website .

"NORTH AMERICA I AM GOING ON TOUR!!!!!!" the musician wrote on Instagram, unveiling a poster for the First Time Tour. "I am so beyond excited to see you guys & give you this new show. it's been way too long. 🖤"

Prior to the North American leg, Laroi will bring his tour to Europe, as announced in January. Supported by special guest Sam Tompkins, the musician will perform tracks from The First Time - which debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200 - in Stockholm, London, Berlin, Paris, Milan and more.

The latest touring news follows Laroi's Amazon documentary Kids Are Growing Up: A Story About a Kid Named Laroi , which premiered Feb. 29 on Prime Video. The film features words from his "Stay" collaborator Justin Bieber and Post Malone, with the "Without You" artist reflecting on his whirlwind rise to fame in 2022.

See the The Kid Laroi's tour announcement and North American dates below.

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