Non-profit organization Space for Humanity (S4H), has chosen Egyptian Engineer Sara Sabry, the country’s first analog astronaut, to join onboard New Shepard’s 22nd space flight (NS-22).
The announcement, which was released Friday, 22 July, marks an unprecedented moment in history as Sabry becomes the first Egyptian citizen to be destined for space and only the second sponsored Citizen Astronaut (CA-2) selected by the S4H after Mexican electrical engineer, Katya Echazarreta.
S4H’s Citizen Astronaut is the world’s first and only program which sponsors exceptional, purpose-driven “leaders” from diverse backgrounds and professions for an opportunity to gain a new perspective by going into space.
The New Shepard space flight is managed under Blue Origin, a private aerospace company owned by Amazon founder and American billionaire, Jeff Bezos.
“When we dare to dream big, we achieve things deemed impossible, we break boundaries, write history, and set new challenges for the future. I am incredibly excited that Space For Humanity has offered me this opportunity and I am honored to be representing Egypt in Space for the first time,” said Sabry in the statement.
“My ancestors have always dreamt big and achieved the impossible, and I hope to bring that back. This is just the beginning.”
The 29-year-old is a mechanical and biomedical engineer. Sabry is also the founder and executive director of Deep Space Initiative, a non-profit aiming to expand space research accessibility. On her mission, whose date remains to be announced, she will fly alongside five other crew members including Portuguese entrepreneur Mário Ferreira and British-American mountaineer Vanessa O’Brien.
Ferreria is also the first person from Portugal to travel to space, while O’Brien is set to become the first woman, according to Blue Origin’s website, “to reach extremes on land, sea, and air, completing the Explorers’ Extreme Trifecta, a Guinness World Record.”
Sabry is a graduate of the American University in Cairo (AUC), with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, and she has obtained a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy. The Egyptian pioneer is seeking a PhD in aerospace sciences concentrating on space suit design.
The Egyptian Space Agency (EGSA) has since expressed its support and congratulations to Sabry on her unprecedented feat.
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