WEBSITE ON KOAT. COM. VIRGIN GALACTIC HEADING BACK TO SPACE THIS MONTH WITH A SIX PERSON CREW AND ONE OF THE CREW MEMBERS GOING ON THE FLIGHT IS A NEW MEXICO NATIVE, JAMIL GILBERT GRADUATED FROM NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY AND GREW UP IN ALAMOGORDO AND LAS CRUCES. SHE’LL BE FLYING ONE HOUR FROM HER HOMETOWN. HER TEST FLIGHT MEANS SHE WILL JOIN THE FIRST 100 WOMEN TO REACH SPACE. SHE JOINED THE COMPANY IN 2019 AND SHE SPOKE TO US ABOUT HER FIRST EVER SPACE TRAVEL TO SEE IT COME FULL CIRCLE AND BE WORKING HERE AND GETTING TO TELL THIS STORY. BUT THEN ALSO BEING ASKED MYSELF TO FLY TO SPACE. IT IS. IT’S UNBELIEVABLE. I CAN’T IMAGINE THERE’S TOO MANY PEOPLE THAT HAVE FLOWN TO SPACE THAT GET TO SAY THAT THEY FLEW JUST UNDER AN HOUR’S DRIVE FROM THE STREET. THEY GREW UP ON ALONGSIDE HER FLIGHT SCIENCE ENGINEER CHRIS HUEY. HE’S SET TO BECOME THE 19TH BLACK ASTRONAUT IN THE WORLD. WHEN WE HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO HIM TO, YOU KNOW, I’M IN THE INTERESTING AND FORTUNATE POSITION TO BE ONLY THE 19TH BLACK ASTRONAUT IN THE WORLD. AND SO FROM A DIVERSITY ASPECT, YOU’RE THINKING THAT’S NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE. LIKE I SAW 20 PEOPLE AT TARGET, TWO ONE THING ALL GOES WELL. THIS MONTH’S FLIGHT WILL MARK THE FIFTH TIME UNITY HAS FLOWN TO SPACE, ALTHOUGH THE COMPANY DID CONDUCT MANY OTHER FLIGHT TESTS WITH UNITY ON AT LEAST 20 OCCASIONS, MORE THAN 800 PASSENGERS WIT