A Dubai resident who has waited 17 years to fly on Virgin Galactic’s space tourism flight says her time to lift off is only a few months away.
Namira Salim, 52, was the first Pakistani and UAE resident to buy a suborbital flight ticket from Sir Richard Branson’s company in 2006, earning her the title of Founder Astronaut.
She paid $200,000, less than half the $450,000 which is reportedly what a seat on the flight costs now.
Artist Ms Salim watched Thursday’s first commercial flight by Virgin Galactic, which took three Italian passengers to the edge of space, at an altitude of 85.1km above the New Mexico desert.
She also attended the company’s inaugural flight in 2021, of which Sir Richard was part.
“My flight is very soon … it is in a matter of a few months,” said Ms Salim, who has to keep the precise date confidential as of now.
“I'm very excited because my flight is going to be much earlier, on being a founder.
“The first commercial flight builds confidence in us and to know that we’re in safe hands.”
'My father taught me the night sky'
She has had a passion for space since she a child, often telling her parents and family members that she wanted to be an astronaut.
“When I was a child, I used to cry to my parents, particularly to my father, to send me to space,” she said.
“I used to say I don't want to play with toys. I told everyone in my family I will grow up to become an astronaut and I really believed it.
“And then I started getting inspired by the night sky, because my father was the one who actually taught me the constellations of the northern sky.”
While Ms Salim had hoped her parents would see her lift off into space one day, her mother died in 2017 and her father in 2019.
“So I really owe this to my father. My space flight will really remind me of my father and my mother,” she said.
Ms Salim has an adventurous spirit, having gone scuba diving in the Bahamas, trained as a pilot, travelled to the North and South poles and did a tandem skydive from an altitude of almost nine kilometres, in the world’s highest drop zone near Mount Everest.
“I think my mother wanted me to be more safe and she was more worried about it [the flight],” Ms Salim said.
“She was not the type to encourage it too much, but my father, he helped inspired it. And that's how the journey began.”
Excited about the new space age
Ms Salim's flight comes at a time when more private companies are investing in space, allowing non-government missions to take place.
Virgin Galactic expects its next flight to take place in August, followed by monthly flights.
Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, also operates space tourism flights and has flown 32 people into suborbit since 2021.
Elon Musk's SpaceX also launches private missions to space.
“It's the democratisation of space, which is what's leading space tourism to become a reality for the common man to go to space commercially,” Ms Salim said.
Passengers can expect about a 70 to 90-minute flight experience on Virgin Galactic.
A mother ship carries the VSS Unity spaceplane to an altitude high enough for it to be released and then to the boundary of space.
Passengers experience about four minutes of weightlessness, before the plane returns to Earth for a landing on a runway in the desert.
Ms Salim is expected to become the first woman space tourist from the UAE, if all goes as planned.
British billionaire Hamish Harding, who lived in Dubai, became the first space tourist from the UAE when he flew on Blue Origin's suborbital rocket last year.
He was one of the passengers on the Titanic submersible that imploded in the Atlantic Ocean this month, killing him and four others.
Helping young people get involved in space
While Ms Salim is excited about travelling to suborbit, she is also passionate about her non-profit organisation – Space Trust – which works on several education initiatives.
One of them includes helping young people in Kenya and Arizona to build the OG2030 nanosatellite, which has already been selected by the United Nations to launch aboard the Vega C rocket free of charge.
From Conquest to Deportation
Jeronim Perovic, Hurst
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Tips for avoiding trouble online
- Do not post incorrect information and beware of fake news
- Do not publish or repost racist or hate speech, yours or anyone else’s
- Do not incite violence and be careful how to phrase what you want to say
- Do not defame anyone. Have a difference of opinion with someone? Don’t attack them on social media
- Do not forget your children and monitor their online activities
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Company%20Profile
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The five pillars of Islam
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
Iraq negotiating over Iran sanctions impact
- US sanctions on Iran’s energy industry and exports took effect on Monday, November 5.
- Washington issued formal waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil, allowing them to continue limited imports. Iraq did not receive a waiver.
- Iraq’s government is cooperating with the US to contain Iranian influence in the country, and increased Iraqi oil production is helping to make up for Iranian crude that sanctions are blocking from markets, US officials say.
- Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped last month at a record 4.78 million barrels a day, former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said on Oct. 20. Iraq exported 3.83 million barrels a day last month, according to tanker tracking and data from port agents.
- Iraq has been working to restore production at its northern Kirkuk oil field. Kirkuk could add 200,000 barrels a day of oil to Iraq’s total output, Hook said.
- The country stopped trucking Kirkuk oil to Iran about three weeks ago, in line with U.S. sanctions, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t allowed to speak to media.
- Oil exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest supplier, have slumped since President Donald Trump announced in May that he’d reimpose sanctions. Iran shipped about 1.76 million barrels a day in October out of 3.42 million in total production, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
- Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The Gandhi Murder
- 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
- 34 - Nationalities featured in the film The Gandhi Murder
- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Company%20profile%20
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THE BIO
Ambition: To create awareness among young about people with disabilities and make the world a more inclusive place
Job Title: Human resources administrator, Expo 2020 Dubai
First jobs: Co-ordinator with Magrudy Enterprises; HR coordinator at Jumeirah Group
Entrepreneur: Started his own graphic design business
Favourite singer: Avril Lavigne
Favourite travel destination: Germany and Saudi Arabia
Family: Six sisters
Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The Bio
Favourite place in UAE: Al Rams pearling village
What one book should everyone read: Any book written before electricity was invented. When a writer willingly worked under candlelight, you know he/she had a real passion for their craft
Your favourite type of pearl: All of them. No pearl looks the same and each carries its own unique characteristics, like humans
Best time to swim in the sea: When there is enough light to see beneath the surface
