Namira Salim, along with two other passengers, was the first Pakistani woman to be launched into space by Virgin Galactic on Friday.
Virgin’s fourth commercial space mission was this one. The other two travelers were American astronomy instructor Ron Rosano and British advertising executive Trevor Beattie.
At 8:10 p.m. Pakistan time, at 1540 GMT, Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity spacecraft launched from Spaceport America in New Mexico, riding on the carrier vessel Virgin Mothership (VMS) Eve.
At some point, Unity was let go by Eve high in the New Mexico sky, at a height of around 45,000 feet (13,700 meters), at about 1624 GMT. Unity then ignited its internal rocket motor and launched itself into suborbital space.
Releasing, releasing, releasing! The rocket motor has successfully been launched and Virgin Spaceship (VSS) Unity has successfully separated from our mothership Virgin Mother Ship (VNS) Eve, the business reported on its X account.
Virgin claims that during its brief journey, the craft reached an apogee of 54.3 miles above Earth’s surface and a top speed of Mach 2.95 (almost three times the speed of sound).
Passengers could be seen looking out the windows while floating weightlessly in a picture that the firm posted.
Spaceflight stats! Dive into the #Galactic04 breakdown:
⏰ Take-off Time
9:28 AM MDT📍Altitude at Release
44,341 ft🚀 Apogee
54.3 MilesTop Speed
2.95 Mach🌎 Landing Time
10:23 am MTDetails → https://t.co/BJ3NiP97UJ pic.twitter.com/60944DLZAc
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) October 6, 2023
When Unity eventually touched down at Spaceport America, the journey was officially over at 12:43 PM EDT (16:43 PM GMT).
VSS Unity was piloted by Commander Kelly Latimer and CJ Sturckow. Beth Moses, the chief astronaut instructor, was also present. In the cockpits of VMS Eve, commander Nicola Pecile and pilot Jameel Janjua were in charge. A Canadian-Pakistani named Jameel Janjua.
Welcome back to Earth, #Galactic04! Our pilots, crew and spaceship have landed safely at Spaceport America, New Mexico. pic.twitter.com/mR2qechqeC
— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) October 6, 2023
Astronaut 019 for Virgin Galactic is Namira Salim. She describes herself as a world tourist, businesswoman, and artist with a variety of experience in space involvement.
From Space back to Earth! Flat Pakistani Astronaut. First Female Virgin Galactic Founder Astronaut! And many more Firsts! ✨🚀✨ pic.twitter.com/yliUjwtQOB
— Namira Salim (@namirasalim) October 6, 2023
She tweeted just before takeoff that Richard Branson, the creator of Virgin Galactic, had wished her a successful voyage. She continued, “Proud to use the same Astronaut suite (sic) as Richard Branson in July 2021 to suit up and prepare my Spaceflight gear.”
Masood Khan, Pakistan’s ambassador to the US, complimented Namira Salim on her accomplishment on Friday, telling her that “because of you, our nation flag fluttered in space today.
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