Lina flew into space on Virgin Galactic flight 06 on January 26, 2024. I met Lina a few times in 2011–2013 at Virgin Galactic events in the United States and England. This time, our meeting took place in Las Vegas. She stood out from the other VG astronauts with her bright personality, which is why she was very memorable. There must be something in common in our thinking and the space connection between us has been preserved. We are the only known VG astronauts who took out a loan to go into space.

It was nice to talk to Lina about the space flight. She told me many details about the flight. We examined her space suit, the pockets in it, what you can put in the pockets, and we talked about how the parachute works. The three most important things about the flight are according to Lina: the three days of training before the flight were really good, the rocket acceleration is much more intense than you can experience in a centrifuge, and the best experience was looking out the window. When the rocket engine is fired, you can actually miss a few heartbeats because the acceleration is so violent. Lina thinks that doing somersaults in a weighted position is pointless and she focused on looking out the windows of the rocket during the flight. The view is incomparable, it was so breathtaking.

We talked about mutual acquaintances, Richard Branson, the VG staff and the progress of the Delta rockets building. Three hours passed quickly, when two space enthusiasts meet after a long time, there is plenty to talk about. In Finland, I don’t have a friend with whom to gossip about space flights, I have to look for a friend a little further. Thanks to Lina, I joined the VG astronauts’ what’s up group, which I was not aware of. I am glad that there are many acquaintances in the group. Thanks to the group, I am now better informed about VG matters.

It is important to Lina to be an example to children and young people, and she has spoken about space matters in many places. Lina is a well-known person in Ukraine, and President Zelensky would have called her after the flight, but then Russia launched an airstrike and the president had to go to a bomb shelter. She has been an example to many, if I manage to motivate children and young people to study and get excited about science like Lina, I will be very happy.

When I started the space project in 2010, I had a goal to do three things before the flight: visit the spaceport, do a weightless flight and experience G-forces in a centrifuge. I did these things in 2011 and 2013.

At first, I didn’t think about how important it is to meet someone who has already made the flight. Of course, you can watch videos and listen to interviews, but it can’t replace a personal meeting. Meeting Lina finalized my preparation for the flight. There’s no more preparation I can do. Now I’m ready for the flight. 

Thank you, Lina!

Lina's Flight, Virgin Galactic 06 , 2 #Galactic06 26.01.2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYXxgqlNSfE

My blog post about Lina's Flight

https://en.suomalainenastronautti.fi/blog/2024/1/27/45598

Lina Borozdina, Virgin Galactic astronaut 023

https://www.virgingalactic.com/astronaut-bio-lina-borozdina

Pictures: Lina and Vesa Las Vegas 2025 and Line in spacasuit (picture Virgin Galactic)