UNITED STATES: Virgin Galactic’s “Galactic 04” mission marked a historic milestone by sending the first Pakistani astronaut, Namira Salim, into space. The mission, which took off from New Mexico’s Spaceport America on the morning of October 6, witnessed Salim, the founder and chairperson of the nonprofit Space Trust, embark on an extraordinary journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere.
This triumph comes hot on the heels of Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 02 flight, where the first former Olympian and a pioneering mother-daughter duo voyaged into space. Notably, the daughter in this duo, 18-year-old Anastasia Mayers, clinched the title of the youngest-ever space flyer during the mission.
Galactic 04’s launch commenced at 11:28 a.m. EDT, as Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity space plane soared skyward beneath the wings of its carrier craft, VMS Eve. Eve gracefully released Unity at 12:10 p.m. EDT, at an altitude of 44,341 feet, paving the way for Unity’s rocket motor to ignite, propelling it into suborbital space at an astonishing top speed of Mach 2.95.
Salim, accompanied by fellow space tourists Trevor Beattie, a British advertising executive, and Ron Rosano, an American astronomy educator, relished moments of weightlessness while gazing at Earth against the cosmic void. Their voyage reached its zenith at 54.3 miles above the Earth’s surface.
At approximately 12:25 p.m. EDT, Unity triumphantly touched down at Spaceport America, concluding the awe-inspiring journey. Inside Unity’s cabin was Beth Moses, Virgin Galactic’s chief astronaut instructor, while Kelly Latimer and C.J. Sturckow skillfully piloted the space plane. Nicola Pecile and Jameel Janjua commanded VMS Eve during the mission.
Galactic 04, as its name implies, marked Virgin’s fourth commercial spaceflight, propelling Rosano, Beattie, and Salim to become the company’s 17th, 18th, and 19th astronauts, respectively. This accomplishment further elevates Salim’s remarkable list of adventures, solidifying her status as the first Pakistani to conquer both the North and South Poles.
Namira Salim, a “Founder Astronaut” of Virgin Galactic since 2006, purchased her ticket for $200,000, a price that has since appreciated to $450,000. While Virgin Galactic faces competition from Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ aerospace venture, the latter’s New Shepard vehicle has been grounded since an uncrewed research flight mishap in September 2022.
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