Watch live as Virgin Galactic launches second commercial space flight

Watch live as Virgin Galactic launches its second commercial space flight.

An 80-year-old former Olympian with Parkinson’s disease will be one of three passengers on board the space tourism flight when it blasts off on Thursday 10 August.

Jon Goodwin, from Newcastle, will join Keisha Schahaff, 46, and her daughter Anastatia Mayers, 18, who is studying physics in Aberdeen, on the VSS Unity for the 90-minute trip.

The two women will be the first mother and daughter to make a trip to space after winning a coveted place in a prize draw, while Mr Goodwin secured his seat 18 years ago after buying a $250,000 (£194,500) ticket.

After taking off at 4pm BST from New Mexico in the US, in the mothership VMS Eve, VSS Unity will separate and take them into sub-orbital space, where they will briefly experience weightlessness while looking back at Earth.

The trip will 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.