A Caribbean entrepreneur and mother is on her way to space, after winning tickets in a Virgin Galactic raffle. The raffle was organised on the Omaze platform to raise funds for Space for Humanity’s citizen astronaut program, which aims to “to expand access to space for all of humanity”; a projected US$1.7 million will be donated to them.
People of all ages, genders and backgrounds were invited to buy tickets as part of their drive to give people equal access to space. And Keisha Schahaff, a 44 year old health coach from Antigua and Barbuda, has won the two tickets estimated at a value of one million US dollars each. The lucky winner has stated that she wanted to fulfil her childhood ambition of visiting space, and she intends to take her teenage daughter, who harbours a dream of working for NASA, with her on this incomparable adventure.
Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic made a surprise visit to Schahaff’s home in early November to congratulate her. The first commercial Virgin Galactic flight into space is anticipated for late 2022.
