Get to know the West Midlands's new astronaut, pensioner Olympian Jon Goodwin
Britain's newest 'astronaut' has been quite the adventurer for all his life - and today is no exception.
Jon Goodwin, aged 80 and with Parkinson's disease, blasted into the edge of space on Thursday afternoon on the second Virgin Galactic tourist flight.
Mr Goodwin, who lives near Market Drayton in the Staffordshire village of Baldwin's Gate, competed as a canoeist at the 1972 Munich Olympics and still holds the Arctic Canoe Race record that he set in 1985.
He was the fourth person to put himself forward for a chance to go into space back in 2005.
A Ferrari owner, hill-climb champion, husband and father of two boys, Mr Goodwin was the fourth person to sign up to go to space with Virgin Galactic. Hundreds have since followed him to join the ranks of the fewer than 700 people to go into space.
Mr Goodwin said: "I have been waiting for a quarter of my life on this earth to go into space."
He watched the moon landings spellbound in 1969.
Mr Goodwin was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 2014 and thought that would be the end of the dream that he was willing to pay $250,000 (£194,500) for when he applied in 2005.
That was until Virgin owner Richard Branson broke the news to him that he was "going to space" when the flight details were announced.
He was the first Olympian to become an astronaut when the VSS Unity took off from New Mexico in the USA at about 4pm UK time.
Mr Goodwin told BBC Breakfast at the end of July that he was “extremely excited” for what he called the “icing on the cake” after a life of doing “exciting things”.
“I always believed it would happen, a lot of people didn’t,” Mr Goodwin said.
“I had a lot of faith in the project and went out to the Mojave Desert [in the United States] a number of times, watched the development, which was really interesting. So, I watched it right from the beginning.”
Asked if the cost of the ticket still seemed worth it, he said: “I think it’s incredibly well-spent money. If, at the time, I was doing it with the Russians, it would have cost me millions of dollars.”
Since his diagnosis, Mr Goodwin has climbed up Mount Kilimanjaro and cycled back down.
Virgin Galactic said he would be only the second person diagnosed with Parkinson’s to fly to space.
On signing up for the mission in 2005, he told BBC Breakfast: “I just saw it... When it came up I was the fourth person to pick up the phone and sign up; there’s now 700 following behind me.
“It was just to have the opportunity to do something very few other people have done – more people have climbed Everest than have gone into space.
“So, I do hesitate on certain things, inasmuch as there’s no toilet on this rocket ship, I have to go back to wearing nappies - I can’t remember the last time I had a nappy on.”
Asked how he would top going into space and back, he joked: “It might be that I need to go to the moon or something.”
Those on board were due to enter sub-orbital space, briefly experience weightlessness and be able to take in extraordinary views of the planet.
He added: “I’m very thankful to Virgin Galactic because when I got Parkinson’s I thought they were going to tell me that I couldn’t do it, but they’ve never consulted me about it, they’ve just assumed I’m fit enough to do it.
“My wife’s always fully supportive of whatever I want to do. We have two boys and they’re both coming out to see me whizz into space.
“The two boys think it’s what dad does, it’s not unusual for them.”
Keisha Schahaff, 46, and her 18-year-old daughter, Anastatia Mayers, joined Mr Goodwin on the trip, becoming the first mother and daughter to go into space, after winning a coveted place in a prize draw.
The trip was to raise funds for Space For Humanity, a non-profit group which seeks to send ordinary citizens into space to give them a “grander perspective” on the challenges facing Earth.
Mr Goodwin isn't the oldest person to venture into space - it is reported that this auspicious title belongs to Star Trek actor William Shatner, who made the journey aged 90.
Mr Goodwin told Parkinson's UK: "I inevitably thought they'd say I could no longer go - because of Parkinson's - but they haven't done that and I'm very honoured that's the case."
He says he feels extremely fortunate that Virgin Galactic is still welcoming him on this historic flight of VSS Unity - and they are inviting the world along to watch too.
A long-standing member of the North Staffordshire Parkinson's group, Jon wants to use his flight to raise awareness of the condition, and to bring the community along with him by watching live on the Virgin Galactic website.
The flight was live-streamed at virgingalactic.com.
Meet Jon Goodwin:
Find out about the flight here:
