How to Be a Space Tourist

Beth Moses, the chief astronaut instructor at Virgin Galactic, will train the people who want to fly on SpaceShipTwo.

On February 22, 2019, Beth Moses embarked on her first test flight aboard SpaceShipTwo, which was flown by David Mackay, Virgin Galactic’s chief test pilot, and Mike Masucci, the company’s lead trainer pilot. The successful launch gave Moses the distinction of becoming the first female commercial astronaut. “It happened because I dared to dream big,” says Moses.

As Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut instructor, Moses is responsible for designing the training program, equipment, and facilities at New Mexico’s Spaceport America to prepare space tourists to journey aboard SpaceShipTwo. Moses is also responsible for developing cabin procedures and leading the cabin test system. These duties require her to blend engineering with ergonomics, and her test flight provided her with the empirical data to refine the curriculum. Karin Leperi, a writer and photographer with bylines in over 150 outlets, interviewed Moses in May.

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