James FitzGerald
At BBC mission control

Image source, PA Media

"Just amazing". Those were the words used by Keisha Schahaff to describe today's historic space flight by Virgin Galactic. When the Unity craft climbed to 85km (52 miles), she was able to see the curvature of the Earth - a sight most of us can only imagine.

Keisha and 18-year-old Ana Mayers, from Antigua, have become the first mother-daughter duo to go to the edge of space. And on a day of firsts, 80-year-old Jon Goodwin became the firm's first fee-paying customer to complete a journey.

This page is now closed. For a recap of what happened, head here for our report by Thomas Mackintosh - who's fast becoming an expert on all things space tourism. Thanks to him, and other colleagues who had a hand in this coverage; namely Laura Gozzi, Rob Corp and Antoinette Radford. See you next time.

We are nearing the end of our coverage of today's historic space mission. Before we go, let's have a quick recap of the key events:

• Virgin Galactic successfully took three passengers to the edge of space in its first such flight for tourists
• The trio experienced zero-gravity conditions while looking back at the curvature of Earth
• The mission marked the first time a mother-daughter duo flew into space together. Keisha Schahaff, 46, and her daughter Anastatia Mayers, 18, from Antigua won their places in a prize draw
• Meanwhile, 80-year-old former Olympian Jon Goodwin, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, was on board as the company's first paying customer - having 18 years ago bought a ticket for $250,000 (then £191,000)
• He was only the second person with Parkinson's disease to go to space
• The landing at 09:33 local time (16:33 BST) was greeted with applause
• During a press conference afterwards, the journey was described as "completely surreal" (by Goodwin) and "just amazing" (by Schahaff)

Earlier we had some reaction from Sir Richard Branson, the British billionaire who founded Virgin Galactic.

He hailed his firm's private passengers as "incredible" in a post, external on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Calling them "commercial astronauts 011, 012 and 013", he went on to say: "Welcome to the club!"

And here's a point on the terminology, while we have the chance.

Today’s Virgin Galactic flight was suborbital rather than orbital - the main difference being the speed at which the vehicle travelled.

A spacecraft needs to be travelling at around 17,500 mph (28,163km/h) to fall into orbit and continuously travel around Earth like satellites do.

In comparison, a suborbital flight occurs when a vehicle reaches outer space, but is not fast enough to be able to stay in space once there.

The VSS Unity today climbed to the edge of space before gliding back down to Earth.

Image source, Reuters

Here's a potential confusion which is worth us clearing up on this page.

Today you've been reading about Virgin Galactic. A separate space firm owned by Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Orbit, was shut down in May, months after a mission failed.

That mission had been billed as a potential milestone for UK space exploration.

Virgin Orbit was set up to launch satellites, differing from Virgin Galactic’s space-tourism mission. Earlier in the year, the firm paused operations to try to boost its finances.

It has now sold off items - including its converted jet Cosmic Girl - and most of its headquarters in California.

Image source, Reuters

Eighty-year-old Jon Goodwin - mentioned below - is not the oldest person to take a space flight.

Actor William Shatner broke that record in October 2021.

He played the famous Captain James T Kirk in the original Star Trek series and travelled to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard at the age of 90.

Before him, Wally Funk was the oldest person to travel to space in July the same year.

She was aged 82 when she took the Blue Origin flight to space.

Ms Funk trained to be an astronaut in the 1960s, but was overlooked for a space flight at the time because she was a woman.

And there is John Glenn, who was the oldest person in space in 1997 when he took a shuttle at the age of 77. Glenn, of course, had already gone to space as a Nasa astronaut - having been the first American to orbit the Earth.

In the Virgin Galactic press conference a short time ago, passenger Jon Goodwin described how he thought his Parkinson's diagnosis was the end of his dream to go to space.

He was diagnosed with the disease several years after buying his ticket for the flight.

Image source, Virgin Galactic

The press conference closes with a question to Keisha Schahaff, who's asked about the advice she gave to her daughter Ana Mayers before the big day.

She says she tries to lead by example, "being adventurous to myself, being true to myself".

She and her daughter Ana then give a shout out to everyone in Antigua and Barbuda and a few select loved ones. Keisha says she took some of the country's pink sand to space with her.

Jon Goodwin thanks his supporters, saying: "Today has blown my mind away."

Keisha offers a final word of thanks to Sir Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic.

And that's all from the press conference.

Image source, Virgin Galactic

Another question from the room. A reporter asks what items the three had in their pockets when they went to the edge of space.

Ana Mayers goes first and says she took a ring from someone who means a lot to her, as well as photos of the most important people in her life.

She also took a badge from her university in Aberdeen.

Her mother Keisha Schahaff says she took a crystal bracelet given to her by her husband as well as an Israeli flag which represents his nation - as well as Antiguan sand and a shell from the beach.

Finally, Jon Goodwin said he took a picture of his grandson Sebastian as well as four rings which belonged to his wife. He had the badge from a canoe club sewn onto his flight suit.

Image source, Virgin Galactic

For the astronauts going into space meant very different things.

Jon Goodwin (pictured) points out that he waited 18 years – Ana Mayers' whole life - for this moment.

Ana says being the second-youngest astronaut to enter space was a sign to her – and young people worldwide – that they could achieve anything they put their minds to.

“I hope that it’s just motivation for other young people to dedicate their time and their efforts to reaching their goals,” she says.

The host asks a question, which was sent in to the news conference, about how the three prepared before the flight.

"Last night I was getting second thoughts a little bit," Ana Mayers admits. "But, this morning I sat up in bed and felt I am ready."

Her mother Keisha Schahaff also didn't sleep well last night: "I had so much excitement, because I wanted to feel very healthy. This morning I looked up at the skies, and it felt like the universe was welcoming us.

Finally, Jon Goodwin says for him the surreal moment was when he got out of the car transporting him from his accommodation, and was told the next time he'd get in he would be an astronaut.

Jon Goodwin continues by saying he hopes his trip into space serves as an example for others with Parkinson's and other diseases.

“I’m hoping that I instil in other people around the world - as well as people with Parkinson's - that it doesn’t stop you doing things that’s out of the normal if you’ve got some illness," he says.

“As far as Parkinson’s is concerned, one of the nicest things for me is the acceptance by Virgin Galactic because when I signed up in September 2005, I didn’t have Parkinson's.”

Next up is a question - or two - from the Daily Mirror which asks Jon Goodwin how this experience compares with competing in the Olympics in 1972. He's also asked what message his latest achievement sends to people who have Parkinson's disease.

"Being in the Olympics is a fair achievement," Jon starts. "But we didn't manage to get on the rostrum which is the aim!

"The Olympic motto is: 'It's not the winning, it's the taking part.' That's a load of rubbish, as no-one wants to get to the Olympics and not win!

"When I signed up in 2005, I didn't have Parkinson's. Nine years ago, when I contracted the disease, I thought that was the end of me going into space.

"They've done various health checks over the years, and never stopped me from doing what I wanted to do."

Crew member Keisha Schahaff, from Antigua, agrees with Goodwin - saying she’s still “up there” following the experience.

"Looking at Earth was the most amazing", she says, adding that she's "not here yet".

She goes on: "It’s just amazing that you can land so smoothly on a runway coming back from space."

Schahaff says the ride was “so comfortable”, and she would love to do it again.

The host from Virgin Galactic starts by asking Briton Jon Goodwin about the experience. He admits it was "far more dramatic" than he ever thought it would be.

He adds: "The pure acceleration. Mach 3 in eight-and-a-half seconds. The re-entry was more dramatic than I thought it would be.

"I would say it was out of control, if I didn't know anything different

"A completely surreal experience. The most impressive thing was looking at Earth from space. The pure clarity was very moving."

We're about to hear from the crew and pilots at a press conference live from Spaceport America.

Follow our page as we give you the latest updates.

We're building up to the press conference now and waiting to hear from the three crew members and pilots.

I'm sure they will have plenty to say!

In the meantime, have a look at some images which have just come to us from Virgin Galactic.

Image source, Virgin Galactic

Image source, Virgin Galactic

Image source, Virgin Galactic

Image source, Virgin Galactic

Image source, Virgin Galactic

Eighty-year-old Jon Goodwin feared he may not be able to participate in the first commercial space flight due to his diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

But today, his wife cried talking about her husband's return from space, saying: "It's something that he's wanted to do from the word go".

Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent

The Virgin Galactic launch system is based on a concept called SpaceShipOne.

This was a small, experimental, privately funded rocket plane that won a $10m prize in 2004 by flying to space twice within two weeks.

The Virgin system is bigger, and is capable of carrying up to six passengers, something SpaceShipOne could not do.

But the concept is the same. A carrier aircraft lifts the rocket plane to a launch altitude above 40,000ft. The rocket vehicle is attached securely to a pylon that's mounted between the twin fuselage design of the "mothership".

At the appropriate moment, the rocket plane is released and its two pilots ignite their vehicle's engine. They pull back on the controls and head straight up, reaching three times the speed of sound.

When the motor is shut down, the rocket plane continues on upwards for a short period of time, reaching an apogee (a maximum altitude) of around 85km (280,000ft).

It's as the vehicle approaches and goes over "the top of the hill" that weightlessness is experienced by those in the cabin. They can float to a window and enjoy the view.

As the plane falls rapidly back down through the atmosphere, its stability is controlled by a clever folding tailboom system that acts much like the feathers on a shuttlecock to keep the craft pointing in the right direction for the glide home.

Remember, there is always risk associated with space flight, but one of the reasons Virgin Galactic's system has taken so long to develop is because of the assurance the company has sought to build into a safe design, backed up by extended testing.

Another of Jon Goodwin's friends at the support group in Stoke said seeing him jet off into space was "amazing".

Lorraine Vernon told BBC Radio 5 Live: "We all love him so much here in our group... He’s wonderful. He gives everybody inspiration and he tries to encourage them to do things.

"He’s kept [having a ticket] to himself for a while. Then all of a sudden he went missing and we said: 'Where have you been?’ And he said: 'Oh, I’ve been testing my space suit' - then it all came out and we were all rooting for him.

She added: "It’s so good for the Parkinson’s people - it will give them a bit more pride in themselves to go on and do things and not be afraid to say ‘I’ve got Parkinson’s’."

Image source, Virgin Galactic