A COMMERCIAL ASTRONAUT'S SPACEFLIGHT: Reflections On Floating Above Earth and The Rocket Ride To Get There

RON ROSANO flew into space with Virgin Galactic in October 2023. As a lifelong Marin resident and spaceflight & astronomy instructor, Ron presents a commercial astronaut’s perspective, sharing insights, photos and video from his flight.

In awe of the starry sky for as long as he can remember, and inspired at a young age by the Apollo flights to the Moon, Ron Rosano has closely followed NASA and other space missions ever since. Ron was active with the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers in the 1990's, and built a 10" Dobsonian telescope with John Dobson in 1993. He began working with The Astronomical Society of the Pacific's (ASP) Project Astro in 1995, and since then has conducted classroom astronomy lessons and presentations with many thousands of K-12 students and with the public. Ron also serves on the Advisory Council of the ASP. Ron works for a small management company, and also pursues interests in music, photography, and the outdoors. Ron flew into space on a suborbital spaceflight in October 2023.