Antiguan woman to fly to space after winning competition

A 44-year-old mother from Antigua and Barbuda will soon be fulfilling a lifelong dream of flying to space after she won two seats on Virgin Galactic’s commercial space flight. Keisha Schahaff, who was named as the winner of Virgin Galactic and Sir Richard Branson’s Omaze fundraising sweepstakes on Wednesday, said she wants to share that experience with her daughter, Jamaica Observer reported.

Tickets for the commercial space flight are currently selling at $450,000 per seat. “I entered the sweepstakes after I saw an ad…but who would have thought that I’d actually win? My daughter [an astrophysics student] is studying STEM and wants to work at NASA, and I hope to share this experience with her because it would be an incredible dream come true for both of us and our entire family,” the health and energy coach said.

“I’ve always had a lifelong love of flying and a fascination with space and this is truly a dream come true for me. It means the world to me. I hope to share this experience with my daughter, so together we can inspire the next generation to follow their dreams,” she added.

Schahaff also shared her excitement in a Facebook post. She further shared she was proud to be representing her country as well as the Caribbean at large.

“The training will take some time, I know, but I’m super ready to embrace every experience onwards. It’s a pleasure to be an ambassador for our island and the Caribbean, the first of our kind to enter space and I’m ready to represent,” Schahaff shared. “My heart is open and ready to unite, to empower and to inspire.”

Virgin Galactic has presold around 700 space tickets, and the company said their target is to sell 1,000 tickets before they officially start their commercial space flights, New York Daily News reported.

“Being able to give people of all ages and backgrounds equal access to space, and in turn, the opportunity to lead and inspire others back on Earth, is what Virgin Galactic has been building toward for the past two decades,” Virgin Galactic founder Sir Richard Branson, said. “It was remarkable to be there for the beginning of Keisha’s journey to space; she is an extraordinary person who is already inspiring people with the work she does to support women in her home of Antigua and Barbuda.”