Dr. Norah Patten, a Dublin resident and employee of Realtra Space Systems Engineering in Coolock, is originally from Co Mayo and will be participating in a research voyage aboard Virgin Galactic's next commercial spaceship, which is scheduled to launch in 2026.

She is a member of a crew that the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS) is sending to further scientific understanding of maintaining life in space. This mission builds on the Institute's previous one from the previous year.

During the mission's first year of operation, Dr. Patten and two other researchers from the US and Canada will fly Virgin Galactic's second-generation spaceship, named Delta.

The sub-orbital commercial space mission will take less than two hours to complete and will go to and from space without circumnavigating the globe.

The goal of the mission is to further knowledge in the fields of fluids and biological research in space by means of the all-female research team, whose flights are supported by grants, institutional investors, and sponsors.

Dr. Patten is an aeronautical engineer and bioastronautics researcher at the IIAS. She has participated in several research projects involving topics like microgravity and the evaluation of commercial spacesuits.

She completed the International Space University's Space Studies Programme, had a worldwide teaching position at the International Space University, and holds a PhD in aeronautical engineering from the University of Limerick.

Three decades ago, while on a family vacation in Cleveland, Ohio, she paid a visit to a NASA research facility to see relatives, which ignited her interest in space flight.

Her desire to visit space was “an impossible dream” when she was younger, but she claims that being a part of the 2026 missions demonstrates how perseverance and hard work can help individuals realise their dreams.

“I got the chance to visit NASA in Cleveland, Ohio, when I was eleven years old. And ever since then, I've set my sights on space, and while it has seemed like an unattainable ambition, it just goes to demonstrate that by persevering and working really hard, I have at last been given this incredible chance,” the woman remarked.

“I'm so grateful,” Dr. Patten said. “I'm very appreciative. And I'm quite happy to be in this situation. The joy, pride, and other feelings I'm experiencing now that this spaceflight has been confirmed are difficult to express.”