Social Diary Magazine
Pakistan's First Female Astronaut Nimra Salim Creates History
By Raja Zahid Akhtar Khanzada
New Mexico: Pakistan's first female astronaut, Nimra Salim, made the country proud after she completed her space journey aboard Virgin Galactic's commercial space liner.
A celebratory event, including an aerial parade and a wings ceremony, was held in a local hotel in New Mexico to honor her achievements. The event was attended by top officials from Virgin Galactic, as well as pilots and staff closely associated with space travel.
During the ceremony, the commander of the space shuttle awarded Salim the wings of valor for her journey on Virgin Galactic's fourth flight into space. The president of Commercial Space Lines expressed that after a long wait, five shuttle missions have now taken place within the past five months, and termed the development an excellent news for space enthusiasts from around the world.
Salim said her childhood dream of venturing among the stars has come true. She emphasized that nothing in the world is impossible, and one can turn the impossible into reality with determination. – The News
An earlier report in Dawn last week by Anwar Iqbal adds:
… “Proud to fly the national flag high in space Insha’Allah on October 6,” she said on social media ahead of her departure alongside three other space travelers.
The other two passengers were British advertising executive Trevor Beattie and American astronomy educator Ron Rosano. Beth Moses, Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut instructor, was also scheduled to join the trio…
Galactic 04 was Virgin’s fourth commercial spaceflight endeavor, following similar flights in June, August, and September of this year.
In addition to Ms Salim, VMS Eve was to be piloted by a Pakistani of Canadian origin, Jameel Janjua. He had completed over 4,000 flying hours in more than 45 different vehicles before he joined Virgin Galactic. Kelly Latimer and C.J.
Sturckow was to fly the space plane while Nicola Pecile were to join Mr Janjua to pilot Eve. Both vehicles were to land back at Spaceport America after completing the mission.
In a tweet posted on her official X (formerly Twitter) account, Ms Salim thanked Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar for congratulating her for being the first woman from Pakistan to go to space.
“By proving their mettle as trailblazers in multiple fields, Pakistani women are making the whole nation proud,” Mr Kakar had written on his X account, wishing her luck.
Ms Salim, who makes history as the first Pakistani to reach space, was one of the first 100 people to buy a ticket with Virgin Galactic, having booked her ride in 2006. Back then, the price was $200,000; it has since risen to $450,000.
Namira, the founder and chairperson of the nonprofit Space Trust, is a longtime adventurer. According to her website , she’s the first Pakistani to visit both the North Pole (in April 2007) and the South Pole (in January 2008).
