Namira Salim has become Pakistan’s first female space tourist after she reached the final frontier on a Virgin Galactic space plane on Friday.
“From Space back to Earth! First Pakistani Astronaut. First Female Virgin Galactic Founder Astronaut! And many more Firsts!” she wrote on X, erstwhile Twitter, after achieving the feat.
The other two passengers were British advertising executive Trevor Beattie and American astronomy educator Ron Rosano. Beth Moses, Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut instructor, also joined the trio.
It was the fifth commercial spaceflight in five months of Virgin Galactic.
“Three new astronauts journeyed to space today and brought back incredible memories and stories of their experience above the Earth,” Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said.
Salim is also a resident of the United Arab Emirates and of Monaco, according to the website. Namira, the founder and chairperson of the nonprofit Space Trust, is a longtime adventurer.
The spaceflight was piloted by Commander Kelly Latimer and Pilot CJ Sturckow. VMS Eve was piloted by Commander Nicola Pecile and Pilot Jameel Janjua.
The suborbital trajectory allows passengers several minutes of weightlessness before returning to Earth.
Sir Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, congratulated the team.
