Virgin Galactic Founding Member Shares Her Journey into Space

Most people, when encouraged to "shoot for the moon" don’t interpret it literally—but for native New Zealander Jackie Maw Tolliver, extreme risk-taking is a way of life, and outer space is precisely what she’s aiming for.The former real estate professional and current Brooklyn resident will soon embark on the first sub-orbital flight as part of Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space program, and Nightingale girls learned about her thrilling journey firsthand at the Upper School assembly on Friday, January 6.

From her childhood spent on a sheep farm in rural New Zealand to her intrepid work in European motorsport, Ms. Tolliver has always "loved being outside of [her] comfort zone." While living in London, she learned of Branson’s commercial space tourism venture, and recalled thinking that if she could make it work financially she would, in every sense of the phrase, be on board. Within a year, the diehard adventure-seeker secured a seat as a founding astronaut with Virgin Galactic, and in 2007 completed her first round of rigorous centrifuge training in Philadelphia, PA.

Later this year, Ms. Tolliver will venture on a two-and-a-half hour voyage skyward via the world’s first spaceline—five to seven minutes of which she will be completely weightless. As many wondered why she chose to devote years to an intense physical regimen for an experience that would last mere moments, Ms. Tolliver affirmed to the auditorium of ambitious girls, "You learn most about yourself when you’re being tested."