Ask Richard: What was the first thought you had when you went to space?

This is a great question, thanks for asking?Jelena . I would love to say it was something much more articulate than a pure and simple, ‘wow!’, but I’m afraid it truly was my first thought. When you’re rocketed into such a profound, tremendous, and celestial moment, everything else (words, thoughts, et cetera) is stripped back to its simplest form.

Since my spaceflight, it’s been delightful to watch others experience the same gravity-defying, awe-inspiring and speech-minimising moment. Hearing the pilots say ‘release, release, release’ as the spaceship drops from the mothership?and then launches straight up into space, takes my breath away each and every time. Virgin Galactic’s third commercial spaceflight window opens on September 8, and I cannot wait to?see three of our?future astronauts (who purchased some of our very first tickets) have their own ‘wow’ moment so soon.?

I have vivid memories leading up to the wow moment. I remember the climb to our point of release went past in what felt like seconds. Suddenly it was time for the one-minute drop warning. After hearing the thrilling ‘release, release, release’ call, I was swung back into my seat as we went from zero to 2,300 mph. We were flying straight up like an arrow, and within eight seconds we had broken the sound barrier. It was a magnificent feeling that seemed to go on and on for a very long time, the roar of the rocket drowning out the beat of my heart. Then, the silence was suddenly all-encompassing. We had made it to space.

I had dreamt about this since I was a child, but nothing could have prepared me for the view of Earth from space. It was magic. Mark Kelly, a NASA astronaut who has become a good friend over the years, had shared some tips the night before the flight. He urged me not to focus on the weightlessness, but to sit by the window and take it all in. It was sage advice. I sat and stared at the planet we had risen skywards from, going from blue to black. I could see the thin line of the atmosphere. I could imagine my family back there, waving up. The beauty was overwhelming.

The moment arrived to share my message from space. I stayed strapped in, staring back at the world through the enormous window by my seat, looking down to Earth and then back at the drawings my grandkids had given me. I said: “For all you kids down there... I was once a child with a dream looking up to the stars. Now I’m an adult in a spaceship looking down to our beautiful Earth. To the next generation of dreamers: if we can do this, just imagine what you can do.”

As I spoke, the spaceship was turning around upside down. Upon my final word, I unstrapped myself and floated freely into the cabin. Here was my Peter Pan dream come true. I was flying. I felt like a kid, like a bird, impossibly free. It was extraordinary. It was just, ‘wow’.