An adventurer has become the first Pakistani to travel into space, riding aboard Virgin Galactic’s fifth successful flight in five months.
The US company stated that Namira Salim is the “first Pakistani to visit space”, noting that she is a resident of Monaco and the United Arab Emirates.
Salim, who previously traveled to both poles and has also parachuted over Mount Everest, was among the first customers to buy a ticket with billionaire Richard Branson’s space company.
“I love my title ‘first Pakistani astronaut.’ I wanted to visit space since I was a kid,” Salim told AFP back in 2012.
American Ron Rosano and Briton Trevor Beattie were also passengers on the trip.
Unlike traditional rocket launches into space, Virgin Galactic utilized a specialized, massive aircraft that took off from Spaceport in New Mexico to carry the passenger vessel high in the sky.
Once at 13 kilometers high, the mothership released the spaceplane, which in turn engaged its thrusters to soar into space up to 86 kilometers, while its passengers experienced a few minutes of weightlessness. The craft then glided back down, landing just over an hour after takeoff.
Beth Moses, a Virgin Galactic employee, and two pilots were also aboard the trip dubbed “Galactic 04.”
