(FILES) Namira Salim, the first Pakistani woman astronaut, speaks during a press conference in Islamabad on August 17, 2006. Namira Salim made her first trip to space on October 6, 2023, on a mission by space tourism company Virgin Glactic, making its fifth successful flight in five months. Salim is “the first person from this country to go into space,” Virgin Galactic said, adding that she is also a resident of the United Arab Emirates and Monaco. (Photo by Farooq NAEEM / AFP)
Washington, United States — Namira Salim, an adventurous Pakistani, has achieved the remarkable feat of becoming the first Pakistani to venture into space. She embarked on her space journey on Virgin Galactic’s fifth consecutive successful flight in the last five months, as announced by the US company.
Salim’s achievements prior to her space journey include expeditions to both poles and a parachute jump over Mount Everest. She had the distinction of being one of the first customers to purchase a ticket from Richard Branson’s space company when it was established nearly twenty years ago.
“I take great pride in being called the first Pakistani astronaut. It’s like being a uniquely special princess of the country. Perhaps even better than being a princess,” Salim shared in an interview with AFP in 2012.
In addition to her Pakistani nationality, Salim is a resident of Monaco and the United Arab Emirates. This makes her not only the first Pakistani but also the first Emirati woman and the first person from Monaco to travel to space, according to Virgin Galactic.
The other passengers on the Virgin Galactic flight, called “Galactic 04,” included American Ron Rosano and Briton Trevor Beattie. The flight also had Beth Moses, a Virgin Galactic employee, and two pilots on board.
Unlike conventional vertical launches, Virgin Galactic employs a specialized aircraft with twin-fuselages to transport the passenger spaceship to high altitudes. The spaceplane is then released, and its thrusters propel it into space at speeds approaching Mach-3.
During the flight, passengers experience a few minutes of weightlessness and have the freedom to perform somersaults and witness the Earth’s curvature through the window. The spacecraft then glides back down and lands approximately an hour after takeoff from Spaceport in New Mexico.
Vying in the suborbital space tourism industry, Virgin Galactic is a competitor to Blue Origin, the company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos. However, Blue Origin’s rocket has been grounded since an accident occurred during an unmanned flight in September 2022. The US aviation regulator concluded its investigation in September and requested the company to implement changes before resuming its flights.
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