A 44-year-old woman has won the trip of a lifetime – heading into space.

Keisha S, a health and wellness coach from Antigua and Barbuda, has scored herself two seats aboard a Virgin Galactic commercial space flight – and has been left blown away by the news.

“I’ve always had a lifelong love of flying and a fascination with space,” she told Jam Press.

“This is truly a dream come true."

The mum hopes to bring her daughter, an astrophysics student, as her plus one.

She added: “It means the world to me.

"I hope to share this experience with my daughter, so together we can inspire the next generation to follow their dreams.”

Keisha will be joining the Virgin Galactic’s Future Astronaut community and will be the first person to do so from the Caribbean Islands.

The community currently has 700 members from over 60 countries and will be invited to participate in experiences that will help them make new connections.

As part of her prize, Keisha also gets a guided tour of Spaceport America, which is the world’s first purpose-built Spaceport.

The prize, provided by the charity fundraising platform Omaze and Virgin Galactic, was presented to the mum via video call – and an in-person visit from Sir Richard Branson.

In a clip, Keisha receives a call from Rachel Lyons, executive director at Space for Humanity, and Matt Pohlson, CEO and co-founder of Omaze, who tell her the great news.

But there's a twist – they only tell the mum she is a finalist, not the winner.

Suddenly, they have 'connection issues' on the call, a ploy for the big surprise as moments later, Branson appears.

He can be seen walking up to Keisha's house, telling her that she's the winner, while bringing her in for a hug as the stunned mum takes in the news.

Keisha screams and jumps around gleefully when she meets Branson.

She tells him: “So I get to say I love you and thank you.”

After much excitement, Keisha is gifted her very own astronaut outfit and is told that she is going to make history as the first astronaut from Antigua.

Sir Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic, said: “Being able to give people of all ages and backgrounds equal access to space and in turn, the opportunity to lead and inspire others back on Earth, is what Virgin Galactic has been building towards for the past two decades

“It was remarkable to be there for the beginning of Keisha’s journey to space; she is an extraordinary person who is already inspiring people with the work she does to support women.

“This experience will provide another platform for her to inspire many more people in the future.”

Omaze raised an anticipated $1.7 million through its draw, with the proceeds going to Space for Humanity, a charity that focuses on democratising space travel.

Matt Pohlson added: “We couldn’t be more thrilled to announce Keisha as the winner of our biggest experience offering to date.

“Omaze exists to dream the world better.

“Not only will a lifelong stargazer get to experience space, but this also helps Space for Humanity open up that opportunity to even more people.

“Because of that, the partnership with Virgin Galactic and Space for Humanity was a dream come true for Omaze, too.”