AN aeronautical engineer who has been “obsessed” with visiting space since she was a child is set to achieve her dream.
Dr Norah Patten, who hails from Ballina in Co. Mayo, but now lives in Dublin, has been selected as one of three research astronauts who will fly to space on Virgin Galactic’s new Delta Class spaceship.
The commercial flight is being planned by the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) to advance the scientific knowledge and operational insights gained from their inaugural IIAS-01 research spaceflight with Virgin Galactic which took place in 2023.
The crew of their second flight will include IIAS bioastronautics researchers Kellie Gerardi of the United States, Dr Shawna Pandya of Canada, and Ireland’s Dr Patten, the IIAS confirmed today.
IIAS bioastronautics researchers Kellie Gerardi of the United States, Dr Shawna Pandya of Canada, and Ireland’s Dr Norah Patten“We are excited to continue to work with Virgin Galactic and its unique platform for human-tended microgravity research in our second spaceflight, IIAS Founder and Executive Director Dr Jason Reimuller said.
“In their tenures at IIAS, Kellie, Shawna, and Norah have consistently demonstrated the teamwork, excellence, and expertise needed to produce high-quality, cutting-edge research in operational environments.
“Our organisation is looking forward to working with Virgin Galactic to optimize the research potential of their Delta-class space vehicles while opening the doors for future IIAS scientist-astronauts.”
Dr Patten admits that she has been dreaming of going to space since the age of 11 when she visited NASA in Cleveland, Ohio and “became obsessed with all things space”.
“Since then, I have been on my own space quest and have navigated a career to bring me on a journey to the stars,” she adds.
Dr Patten studied Aeronautical Engineering and gained a PhD from the University of Limerick, before participating in the International Space University (ISU) Space Studies Program (SSP) in 2010 and joining the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences as a citizen scientist in 2017.
Currently she is an aeronautical engineer and bioastronautics researcher with IIAS and works for the Irish space start-up Realtra Space Systems Engineering in Coolock, Dublin.
“My goal is to fly on a suborbital spaceflight and share my journey to inspire the next generation of engineers, astronauts, innovators and scientists,” she admits.
Now, she doesn’t have long to wait to achieve it, with Virgin Galactic’s mission due to launch in 2026.
“Sometimes impossible dreams can come true,” Dr Patten said after her mission was announced.
“Since I was 11 years of age, after a visit to NASA, I've had my sights set on space," she added.
“Today is a very special day and I'm so honoured, so grateful and so excited to be named alongside Shawna Pandya and Kellie Gerardi as a payload specialist on this mission.”
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