Soon-to-be astronaut Sarah Sabry will be amongst the lucky passengers aboard the New Shepard flight No. 22, a program funded by Aerospace company Blue Origins.
Sabry will be joined by a handful of other first time astronauts from the United States, Portugal, and the United Kingdom. She was selected for the cosmic journey after completing a two-week program replicating the severe circumstances humans face in orbital space in 2021.
Sabry, after obtaining her bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from the American University of Cairo, went on to get a master’s degree in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering in Italy. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology also offered her a PhD spot studying Aircraft Engineering (MIT).
Sarah expressed her pride in representing Egypt in space.
“When we dare to dream big, we achieve things that are considered impossible, break borders, write history and set new challenges for the future,” she said.
“I am honored to be representing Egypt in space for the first time. My ancestors have always dreamt big and achieved the impossible, and I hope to bring that back. This is just the beginning,” she added.
Sabry also received congratulations from the Egyptian Space Agency, which also expressed its support for her endeavor.
Sabry founded the Deep Space Initiative, a non-profit organization that intends to enhance access and research possibilities in space as NASA aims to hire more female astronauts, particularly Arab women.
While working for Egypt’s national space agency, Sabry helped develop and construct Africa’s first analogue research station.
