A 'Parky' in Space

18 years after he booked a Virgin Galactic ticket

Jon Goodwin

Exciting news - Virgin Galactic has just announced that one of the three members of the public due to board its second commercial flight in mid-August is a man with Parkinson’s.

Jon Goodwin, who is 80 and from Stoke-on-Trent, went on the waiting list back in 2005 when he paid $200,000 for a ticket. Then in 2014 he learned he had Parkinson’s and thought his chance had gone.

But Virgin Galactic has picked him as the first paying customer on the spacecraft, which has suffered a series of setbacks and delays. He’ll be joined Keisha Schahaff and Anastatia Mayers, a Caribbean mother and daughter who won their tickets in a charity draw.

Now they are preparing for the brief suborbital flight which will take them to the edge of space and allow them to experience weightlessness. The flight aboard the rocket-powered aircraft is scheduled for August 10th and will last around 90 minutes.

Jon Goodwin competed for Great Britain as a canoeist in the 1972 Olympic games and even after his Parkinson’s diagnosis has continued to take on extraordinary challenges, including climbing up and cycling down Mount Kilimanjaro.

He will be only the second person diagnosed with Parkinson’s to fly to space - Nasa astronaut Rich Clifford was selected for a Space Shuttle mission even after his diagnosis, taking part in a historic space walk.

Jon has been active in a local Parkinson’s group and a keen supporter of Parkinson’s UK. In a statement released by Virgin Galactic he says he hopes that his flight can shine a light on the condition and inspire others:

“For me to go to space with Parkinson’s is completely magical. I hope this inspires all others facing adversity and shows them that challenges don’t have to inhibit or stop them from pursuing their dreams.”

I was already beginning to feel a bit of a slacker compared with the “Parkies” who cycled or ran to World Parkinson’s Congress in Barcelona - now an 80 year old getting ready to be an astronaut nine years after his diagnosis makes me think maybe I should be a bit more ambitious with my fitness programme. I am hoping to interview Jon Goodwin in the next couple of days - let me know if you have questions for him.