Astronaut takes first flight to space, hails Jamaican mother for sacrifices

Christopher Huie, 35 and the son of Jamaican immigrants, is one of four crew members who undertook the final assessment on Unity 25 on Thursday, May 25, before commercial trips begin in late June

Huie shared that his parents left Jamaica looking for better opportunities, adding that his mother sacrificed a lot so he could have the opportunities she did not have growing up

“Looking down at our beautiful planet from space, something that so few humans have experienced, was such a humbling, awe-inspiring, and reverent experience,” said Huie, who is a senior manager at Flight Science, Virgin Galactic

The provisions made by his mother became more apparent following the divorce of his parents

His mother, who is from Harvey River in Hanover, Jamaica was only 17 years old when she moved to Chicago She then migrated to Florida, where Huie grew up Embracing his Jamaican roots, he wore his US and Jamaican patches on the planned test run involving a mothership and spaceship, both of which he is well familiar with as a senior engineer

Huge graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Aerospace Engineering He also worked in the industry’s private sector before joining Virgin Galactic in 2016 as a loads and simulation engineer

He lives with his wife and daughter in Los Angeles, and is a co-founder of Virgin Galactic’s Black Leaders in Aerospace Scholarship and Training (BLAST) program, which includes mentorship for college students

“As one of the first 20 black people who have gone to space, I hope that I can inspire the next generation of astronauts who look like me to set their goals high and break down the mental and institutional barriers that have held people of colour back,” he said in a release from Virgin Galactic “This is just the beginning, and I look forward to continuing to push boundaries with Virgin Galactic and shine a spotlight on the doors that commercial space travel can open for innovation ”

Huie’s Unity 25 fellow crew members included Beth Moses, Luke Mays and Jamila Gilbert While he has a detailed knowledge of the VSS Unity and VMS Eve craft, as he had worked on virtually every part of the spaceship and mothership, he took a more passive role in the recent mission

The launch was designed to make a final assessment of the flight and astronaut experience before taking paying customers on 90-minute flights in the near future