By Zaya Williams

Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Galactic, is optimistic about seeing more astronauts from the Caribbean region in the future.

This follows the successful space journey of Keisha Schahaff and Anastasia Mayers, a mother-daughter duo who travelled to space last week Thursday.

Branson expressed his hopes for the Space for Humanity program, which allows individuals to pay a small fee of $5 or $10 to enter, to bring more people from the Caribbean into space.

He also noted that disability is not a hindrance to participating in space travel, as one of the private passengers, Jon Goodwin, has Parkinson’s disease and is 80 years old.

Virgin Galactic recently launched its second commercial spaceflight from its Spaceport America, New Mexico location, with Schahaff, Mayers, and Goodwin among the three private passengers aboard the VSS Unity.

The event was witnessed by residents of Antigua and Barbuda who attended watch parties held at the Antigua Recreation Grounds and the Holy Trinity Primary School.

Schahaff and Mayers made history as the first Antiguans and Barbudans, as well as the first Caribbean mother-daughter duo, to travel to space.