Citizen Astronaut Graduates
(CAG)
Future space flyers can take our Citizen Astronaut Program to prepare for their flight and the transformative experience of the Overview Effect. CAP graduates can also choose to opt-in to a post-flight, year-long impact project based on leadership, community development, and lasting impact.
Keisha Schahaff
Citizen Astronaut Program Graduate
Virgin Galactic
Flight: Galactic 02
On August 10th 2023, Keisha Schahaff flew aboard Virgin Galactic’s Unity, alongside her 18-year-old daughter, Anastasia Mayers, becoming, not only the first mother-daughter duo, but also the first women from the Caribbean to go to space. Keisha is also the first human to go through our newly in-house developed CAP program, blazing a trail for future Citizen Astronauts.
At the Virgin Galactic press conference that took place directly after her flight, Keisha had a message for future astronauts. “We have to go beyond our fears. We have such big dreams. A lot of times, we are afraid to even voice it because it's too big, and we don't want to be shut down. But it is okay to dream big. This is how we stretch ourselves. You have to go beyond your limit. You just keep taking that next step and you never know how things will align for you. If it can for me, it can for anyone.”
Keisha has garnered considerable media attention from her flight, with appearances on NBC’s The Today Show and BBC News, as well as being featured in CNN, Forbes, People, and Space.com, among many more.
Antigua and Barbuda has equally embraced Keisha and Anastasia. Richard Branson was witness to Keisha’s journey to space live, with Keisha’s mother and hundreds of enthralled supporters in Antigua and Barbuda. And Keisha and Anastasia were honored with a new exhibit at the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda entitled, “Antigua and Barbuda Goes to Space.”