Dubai-based Pakistani astronaut Namira Salim to fly to space today
- Longing to become Pakistan's first space tourist, she bought a ticket for the suborbital flight way back in 2006 for $200,000
Dubai-based astronaut Namira Salim will become the first Pakistani to head to space on a Virgin Galactic flight scheduled for around 7pm PST. She will be joined by three crew members and two other civilians: American astronomy educator Ron Rosano and Trevor Beattie, an advertising executive from the UK.
The flight will take off from Virgin Galactic’s Spaceport America in New Mexico, according to a press release issued by the company. This will be the Richard Branson-founded company’s fifth spaceflight this year and ninth spaceflight to date.
Salim bought a ticket for the suborbital flight way back in 2006 for $200,000 (about Rs55 million at today’s exchange rate). Reports suggest the current price for a seat on a Virgin Galactic flight is $250,000 to $450,000.
According to Space.com, the VSS Unity spacecraft flies on a suborbital trajectory that allows its passengers several minutes of weightlessness before returning to the runway back at Spaceport America.
Though it doesn’t reach orbit, Unity will be high enough that passengers will be able to see the curvature of Earth against the dark backdrop of outer space.
Khaleej Times reported the flight will make Salim the first Pakistani to go to space, as well as the first female UAE resident.
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar wished Salim luck, to which she replied she is “proud to fly the national flag high in space”.
Khaleej Times noted she she will also be representing the national flags of the UAE and Monaco, where she has been a long-time resident.
Who is Namira Salim?
According to the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation website, Namira Salim was born in Karachi. She holds a Master of International Affairs from Columbia University.
Among her many accolades is the fact that she was officially recognised as the ‘First Pakistani Astronaut’ by the government of Pakistan in 2006 and was awarded the ‘Tamgha-e-Imtiaz’ (Medal of Excellence) in 2011 by the President of Pakistan.
Salim founded the nonprofit Space Trust, which advocates for leveraging the growing space sector as a platform for achieving peace on Earth
She is not only the first Pakistani to have reached the North Pole (in 2007) and the South Pole (in 2008), but also the first Asian and first Pakistani to skydive over Mount Everest during the historic First Everest Skydives 2008.
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