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Virgin Galactic's next flight will take a Pakistani to space for the 1st time
Namira Salim will make history Oct. 5 on the 'Galactic 04' mission.
Namira Salim will make history Oct. 5 on the 'Galactic 04' mission.
The view from Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity space plane during its Galactic 02 spaceflight on Aug. 10, 2023. (Image credit: Virgin Galactic)
Namira Salim will make spaceflight history next month.
The adventurer will become the first Pakistani to reach space on Virgin Galactic's next mission, called "Galactic 04," which is scheduled to launch from New Mexico's Spaceport America on Oct. 5.
Galactic 04 will carry three customers to suborbital space and back. Salim shouted out the other two in her post — British advertising executive Trevor Beattie and American astronomy educator Ron Rosano.
Joining these space tourists in the cabin of Virgin Galactic's VSS Unity space plane will be Beth Moses, Virgin Galactic's chief astronaut instructor. Kelly Latimer and C.J. Sturckow will fly the VSS Unity space plane on Galactic 04, and Nicola Pecile and Jameel Janjua will be at the controls of VMS Eve, the carrier plane that hauls Unity off the ground. (Eve drops Unity at an altitude of about 45,000 feet, or 13,700 meters; the space plane then lights up its rocket motor to get to suborbital space.)
As its name suggests, Galactic 04 will be Virgin's fourth commercial spaceflight. The previous three have all launched recently — in June, August and September, respectively.
Salim, 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).
She 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.
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