Summary

  • Keisha Schahaff and Ana Mayers have become the first mother-daughter duo to travel to the edge of space, travelling on a Virgin Galactic rocket plane

  • In a press conference afterwards, they've spoken of the "amazing" experience of seeing Earth from an altitude of around 85km (52 miles)

  • Keisha, from Antigua, won the prize while flying to the UK, where her daughter is studying

  • They were joined on board by Jon Goodwin, 80, a British former Olympic canoeist

  • Goodwin, who has Parkinson's, bought his ticket for space for $250,000 back in 2005

  • At the peak of their flight, the group were able to see the curvature of the Earth and the black of space

Live Reporting

Edited by James FitzGerald

  1. Parkinson's support group 'so proud' of Goodwin

    Two friends of one of the astronauts, Jon Goodwin, watched the Virgin Galactic flight at a party organised by members of Goodwin's Parkinson's support group in Stoke-on-Trent.

    Ana Palazon told BBC Radio 5 Live's Drive programme that the whole group was "so proud" of Goodwin. "He may have Parkinson’s but Parkinson’s doesn’t have him," she said.

    "His attitude towards life is that he keeps going, he keeps having objectives, personal objectives, and he’s such a physically active and daring person."

    She said that there was "big clapping" when the rocket was let go by the mothership, and that people cheered and cried when Goodwin appeared on screen.

  2. 'She’s a burrito-rolling astronaut'

    Ben Philip
    Reporting from the FreshMex takeaway

    The staff at the FreshMex takeaway in Aberdeen applaud while watching a live stream

    Ana Mayers' colleagues applaud as their co-worker reaches the edge of space

    More from our reporter at the Mexican restaurant which employs Ana Mayers, 18, who today became the second-youngest person to make a journey to space.

    "She’s a burrito-rolling astronaut," one of Ana's colleagues at FreshMex in Aberdeen tells me, as they react to her reaching the edge of space with her mum.

    One colleague tells me he’s covering Ana's shift.

    “We’re still making burritos and she’s in the atmosphere floating around right now”, he says.

    The staff burst into applause as they watched Ana and her mum make history.

  3. First Virgin Galactic commercial flight for tourists

    A view from the exterior of Virgin Galactic's Unity rocket planeVirgin Galactic

    What an experience that must have been for those on board the Virgin Galactic rocket plane - with incredible views of Earth. Let's have a quick recap of what's been happening:

    • Virgin Galactic has completed its first commercial space flight with a tourist on board, taking off from a site in New Mexico
    • For the first time, a mother-daughter duo - Keisha Schahaff and Ana Mayers - headed to the edge of space. They won their tickets in a sweepstake
    • Also on board was 80-year-old Jon Goodwin, a former Olympic canoeist who bought his ticket for $250,000 back in 2005
    • The company has sold more than 800 tickets to people who want to fly seven times higher than a passenger jet
    • We are still due to hear from the crew when a press conference will be held later
    Passengers on board the Virgin Galactic Unity rocket plane move around the craftVirgin Galactic

    The passengers unbuckled and experienced zero-gravity

  4. 'Hopefully these flights become much more regular'

    Malcolm McDonald, a professor of space technology at the University of Strathclyde, tells the BBC he hopes these trips become "much more regular".

    He raises the prospect of safety issues for the industry, but expresses hope these can be overcome.

    "There is inevitably going to be an incident on board - and how do we recover from that? With new technologies we have mishaps and we have to be careful," he says. "But hopefully this is the start of a much more regular activity."

  5. WATCH: Passengers unbuckle and experience zero gravity

    Another clip for you to look at from that landmark flight to the edge of space.

    Watch the moment the passengers - Jon Goodwin, Keisha Schahaff and Ana Mayers - unbuckle their seatbelts and float around, experiencing zero gravity.

  6. The mother and daughter on board today's flight

    Keisha Schahaff and Ana MayersVirgin Galactic

    Keisha Schahaff and Ana Mayers in a Virgin Galactic training session yesterday

    Anastatia Mayers, an 18-year-old Aberdeen University student, and her mum Keisha Schahaff, 46, have become the first mother and daughter to go to the edge of space.

    The second-year philosophy and physics student travelled from the Caribbean to study in Scotland and said that decision led to the opportunity to go on today's trip.

    Keisha, a health and wellness coach, won a place on Virgin Galactic's second commercial flight after she saw an advert on for the sweepstake on a flight to the UK to sort out her daughter’s visa.

    Anastatia - who was also the second youngest person to go to space - said beforehand that she hoped she could use the experience to inspire others.

  7. Down to earth in Aberdeen...

    Ben Philip
    Reporting from the FreshMex takeaway

    Staff

    Staff at the Aberdeen FreshMex takeaway have been glued to the screen this afternoon

    I'm here in the centre of Aberdeen with the staff at the FreshMex takeaway, where Ana Mayers works. They set up a laptop today to keep an eye on the progress of their colleague while their working.

    This was a dream of Ana's. She wants to work for Nasa one day. When the BBC spoke to her last week, she said this experience was written in the stars.

    A lot of excitement and a lot of disbelief were on display as Ana's colleagues watched the live stream of the flight.

    Normally, she would be here rolling the burritos and preparing the nachos - but she's had a very different day today, up in space with her mum.

  8. Touch down!
    Breaking

    The Galactic 02 mission is back on Earth!

    A smooth landing for the flight, which has just touched down on the tarmac in New Mexico.

    The Unity rocket plane returns to Earth

  9. 'They're officially astronauts!'

    Passengers on board the Unity rocket plan look out of the craft's windowsVirgin Galactic

    The group on board were permitted to take off their seatbelts and look out of the windows

    We've just heard the voice of an excited Virgin Galactic mission control announcer.

    Speaking of the group on board the Unity rocket plane, she says: "It's amazing, they're all going to the window and taking in this absolutely incredible view of Earth - the planet where all of their experiences are held.

    "Everything they've ever known is down below.

    "They look like they're having an absolutely incredible time, and they're officially astronauts! Welcome to space and congratulations."

  10. Galactic 02 flight reaches edge of space
    Breaking

    The pilots and crew have reached the edge of space!

    We can see the team taking in the incredible views of Earth below, and the experience of space around them.

    The Unity rocket plane is now making its way back down to our planet.

    Stay with us as we follow the rest of the journey.

    You can also watch a live stream at the top of this page hosted by our colleague Nicky Schiller. Just press the Play button.

  11. Plane and rocket ship separate as Unity hurtles towards space
    Breaking

    It has been almost 50 minutes since Galactic 02 took off, and we have now reached the next stage the mission.

    The Eve carrier plane and Unity rocket ship have separated as planned.

    A view of the exterior of Virgin Galactic's Unity rocket planeVirgin Galactic

  12. 'They will see some incredible views'

    Some more commentary now from Scotland - where one of today's passengers, Ana Mayers, is a student at the University of Aberdeen.

    Steve Owen, an astronomer at Glasgow Science Centre, tells Radio Scotland's Drivetime that today's flight is part of a growing space-tourism industry.

    "It'll only happen more and more regularly," he says.

    Jones predicts the views for the passengers will be spectacular: "Out of the window they'll see the beautiful curvature of the Earth and space will be black."

    "They will see some incredible views."

  13. Inside and outside the Unity space rocket

    A camera on board the rocket ship is showing a live stream of the passengers as they fly further up into space - while another camera shows the outside of the ship, with Earth below getting further away:

    Four passengers pictured sitting inside the Virgin Galactic space flightVirgin Galactic
    Earth seen from the exterior of Virgin Galactic's Unity rocket planeVirgin Galactic
    Earth seen from the exterior of Virgin Galactic's Unity rocket planeVirgin Galactic

  14. The environmental impact of space tourism

    Jonathan Amos
    Science correspondent

    We're not talking about very many flights. This is probably the seventh time the Unity craft has tried to get to this altitude. Its carbon footprint, set against the thousands of commercial flights every day, is tiny.

    Virgin Galactic told me that in terms of footprint the carbon emissions are equal to a business seat on a London-New York flight. They also said they offset those emissions.

    The question going forward is: how big does this industry become? Does it remain pretty niche or does it become large-scale, if, for example, the price comes down?

  15. What constitutes 'space'?

    Jonathan Amos
    Science correspondent

    Unity is due to reach an altitude of around 85km (53 miles) - but is that officially "space"?

    The US government considers "space" to start at 50 miles (80km) - but that is not where space is internationally considered to start.

    That point is called the Kármán line, and is located at 100km up (62 miles).

  16. A reminder you can watch our live stream

    We have a dedicated feed with commentary and analysis as the passengers on Virgin Galactic's rocket plane head to the edge of space.

    Just press the Play button at the top of this page.

    If you're already watching it, you may benefit from refreshing your browser - to resolve any issues you may be experiencing with out-of-sync speech.

  17. 'A lot of us are quite envious of Ana'

    While waiting for the flight to reach the edge of space, we've been hearing from University of Aberdeen's Dr Ross MacPherson.

    Speaking on our live stream (which you can watch at the top of this page), he says there's been a real buzz around the campus since news emerged that student Ana Mayers would be going on this historic mission.

    Dr MacPherson adds: "We are all just really excited. She is so lucky to get this unique experience and a lot of us are quite envious!

    "We can't wait to speak to her when she's back. This will be one of the defining achievements of her life."

  18. How much higher than a normal plane will Unity fly?

    Jonathan Amos
    Science correspondent

    Virgin Galactic's Unity rocket plane in the air

    You can get a great view out the window of a standard airliner, especially if you're heading over mountains, like I did over the European Alps last month.

    Modern passenger jets will fly up to 40,000ft (12km) or so.

    Now, imagine going seven times higher, to 280,000ft (85km).

    The view out of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane will be even more spectacular.

    The thought lingers with me that such flights would be problematic to launch from the UK, and the reason is cloud. Smothering decks of the stuff.

    To get that perspective of height, you need a clear view of the ground. In New Mexico, that's easy enough. In old Blighty, not so much.

  19. Cheers from the ground after smooth take-off

    Regan Morris
    Reporting from New Mexico

    Take-off went as planned - 08:30 local time.

    There were many cheers here on the ground from family and friends.

  20. Passengers will see curvature of Earth and black of space

    Jonathan Amos
    Science correspondent

    If you're sitting on board the Virgin Galactic seats, after take-off you'll have been pushed back into the seat.

    At the top of the climb, you'll be able to come out of the seat, float to the window and you'll be able to see the curvature of the Earth and the black of space.