From Pilot Dreams To Space Realities with Maleha Khan

I think to be successful, you have to keep that at the forefront of your mind about having that international collaboration, whether that is to support the next generation with jobs and industry opportunities, or whether is that is to create an entirely new climate change mission or a deep space exploration mission or whether it is to support the transfer of humans onto Mars or planet x y z, it doesn't matter. You still have to work together. So that needs to be at the front of your mind.

Hi. I'm Maleha Khan and you're listening to 'Your Business in Space'. I currently work at the UK Space Agency.

There are 5 offices across the country, and I'm based in the Harwell office, where you'll see quite a few of the space companies there, including the home base for the European Space Agency. Before that, I was studying aeronautics and astronautics at the University of Southampton, and I gained a master's in spacecraft engineering.

And what that means is that I was able to learn more about the space sector, learn more about what agencies do, the missions that are there. And I'm very fortunate to have found my way into the UK Space Agency where I can be at the heart of a lot of that. And in the future, I'd love to get more involved with some of the technology projects that are being supported by the agency, and in particular, the exploration missions, the rovers, the very advanced, technology progression that we're going to see in the very soon future as well. I was actually born in Pakistan. And when I came to the UK where I was mostly raised, I I knew that I wanted to do something that was almost, a dream come true. Something that wasn't very ordinary, something that felt almost out of reach at the time. And I grew up with a family of doctors and I had a lot of exposure into the physical field. But when I saw this one particular thing, which was a red arrow flight display, which is the the enormous and beautiful display of fast jets that they do at, family days and then festivals.

And I saw this one Red Arrow aircraft flying across very low level, about 200 feet across the water, I think. And I was so inspired by that moment, and I thought, that's it. I I want to be a pilot. And I was, I think, yeah, 15 at the time, maybe 14. And that sort of pushed me to go and try this really unique career that felt untouchable at the time. And and in a lot of ways, it was. But then I managed to become an air cadet with the Royal Air Force, and I had my first flight at 15. And then it became from a completely out of the blue dream into a real dream that that's what I want to do.

And then things sort of started getting kicked off from there, and I already already loved physics, as a kid in school. And it just felt like I could tie in all of those passions and everything sort of fell fell into place when I saw that. So after actually saying to my parents, saying to the world that I wanna be a pilot, 15 years old, that's what I want to do. It was the most ridiculous thing for people to hear. It was just outrageous. It was one of those untouchable dreams that even if you had a bit of hope, the issue wants to cover go and become that, other people would certainly make you sort of come back to Earth and say that that's not very realistic. You should pick something that's a bit more family friendly. You should pick something that's actually, you know, doable, something that you see in other people achieve as well.

And I just didn't know any pilots. I didn't know anything about flying. All I knew was that I wanted to do it. It was an internal gut feeling. The other thing is being a woman and saying that you wanna be a pilot, at least at the time 10 years ago when I was 15, it was tough.

I mean, people didn't really see it as much. I mean, it's it's definitely developing now, but it wasn't at the time that common to see female pilots. A lot of people did try and put me off under the concept that I'll be better off doing something else.

And it's not their fault. They also didn't really understand the pathways. They weren't really exposed to anything. Particularly my parents, they were trying to secure the best life possible for me. They don't want me to end up in a very difficult situation. So it was very, very challenging to go up to people and be strong, Particularly at an age where you're still in school, you're still trying to figure out what you like, still trying to figure out what you're good at and you're going off up to other people who are older than you confidently saying this is what you're gonna do in your life.

That's very hard to do. I grew up and went to school, near Portsmouth.

So my school was Portsmouth High School. And, that's actually where I saw the Red Arrow d day celebration display and that's where it all kicked off for me. And at the time, I was 15, so I was doing my, sort of GCSEs or just before that, I think.

And as you know sorry. I was doing my GCSEs. And just after your GCSEs, you enter the phase of college or 6th form where you do your a levels. And in your a levels, you get to choose a certain number of subjects, usually about 3 to 4 subjects. And you study for 2 years, on those subjects in a bit more depth than when you are 15, 16.

And I knew that I wanted to study science. That was a given. I knew that from when I started primary school that I love science. That's not to say that I didn't like other things. I I love painting. I did fine art. I did drama as well. And I really loved all of those.

But I knew that in terms of my career, I wanted to learn more about science. So for my a levels, I chose biology, chemistry, and physics. And I knew that I didn't wanna cut off anything in particular. So even though I loved physics and that was more related to being a pilot than biology, for example, I still really wanted to learn as much as I could about every science possible. And whilst I was studying those, I also did a little bit of art in the background, which believe it or not really helps your hand eye coordination. It helps refine the focus in your mind and then you can you can be creative, which I don't think people do enough, these days as well. So I really enjoyed that time. It was quite a challenging, period, but it's one of those periods in high school, 6th form or college that prepares you if you particularly want to go into university.

So it gets you ready for whatever degree you choose to do. And for me, that was aerospace engineering. I just knew that I wanted to find the most challenging degree out there. I don't know why, but it felt like if I've got the privilege to go to university, then I wanna make the most of it. I wanna I wanna see what I can learn and what I can achieve, and and to what depths I could go with it. And that's why aerospace engineering appealed to me so much. And and not to mention the fact that it obviously was the most relatable in my sort of opinion to flying. And I thought, okay, this could be a good pathway, and maybe it'll get me there.

Maliha Khan [: 00:07:01

So I went to the University of Southampton, which offers a very unique course in aeronautics and astronautics. And that what that means is they cover two sides of, the engineering there. That's the aeronautics, which covers everything within the atmosphere. So you're looking at aircraft. You're looking at things that fly maybe even in water, submarines, things that use aerodynamics. So formula 1 cars, anyone interested in these things will have been exposed to what an aeronautical engineer has had to work on. But then you've got the, astronautics side of things, which is above the atmosphere.

So you're looking at rockets, satellites, things that go into deep space, things that go just touching space and coming back.

All of this is governed by people who study aerospace, the space environment, and are able to engineer in a very specific environment. So that course was fantastic. I loved it. It was probably the most challenging thing I've ever done, but well, well worth it.

That then really fine tuned where I went with those studies, with those passions. I then went into a specialization for my master's in spacecraft engineering. And from there, I was able to learn about the real finer details of what goes on to make a mission possible. But when you see a rocket go up, there is every single nut and bolt on that rocket has been tested to the nth degree, through vibrational testing.

And every single design that you see has been going through various different iterations. There's so much that goes on, but it's so interesting. And after that, I then went on to teach my favorite part of the course, which was rocket propulsion in Saudi Arabia. So I went to Saudi Arabia, and I taught my very own course on rocket principles. It was called rockets and space science. I created a textbook course, and I was teaching a class of all women, which was fantastic for me. But also these women were the top 1% of talent in Saudi Arabia. They were absolutely excellent.

And they had their eyes set on a prize to work in the space sector, to learn about the space sector. And they just wanted to absorb so much knowledge, which was an exciting period for me, but also a very inspiring moment because these women were looking at me and they actually said to me, you're not much older than me. I was 23 at the time, and they were sort of pre university or university level age. We're looking at a few years older than them, and they're going, actually, if you can do it and you're only a few years older than me, that means I can do it. And I said, yeah, absolutely, you can. And you've got black hair like me. You know, you you're not the usual person that I see in in in aerospace and aviation. So for me, it was a big moment of inspiration, a big moment of of learning, and I loved it.

I absolutely loved it. And sharing your passion for something, you know, not everyone's interested in rocket science, but I certainly was.

But if you're passionate, you can get people on board with that, and that that's really contagious. So after that, I I have, received the pleasure of working in the UK Space Agency. And that really just brings me to a much more rounded, area of the space sector where I'm involved with so many different teams, different professionals. It's it's yeah. It's very exciting. So going back to the original dream of becoming a pilot, that's still something that I I I put my heart and soul into.

I gained my private pilot license, which is something that could potentially take you 3 to 4 months if you paid up front and had a lovely bit of weather for a while. But it took me 10 years from the age of 15 to my age now, which is 25. It took me 10 years to get something that could take 3 to 4 months. So it was a lot of dedication. And it was through 4 different flying scholarships who's which supported me to get that. But I think people don't realize that you can still work towards something, still be passionate about something and take your time with it. And so whilst I was studying aerospace engineering, I never lost my love for flying. That continued.

It was just it was even more impactful by combining the two passions. What I loved about the Red Arrows, yes, of course, it's it's fantastic flying. It's it's really cool. They wear cool suits. They've got nice planes. It was the cutting edge technology involved as well. Because when you look at a Red Arrow team, you don't just have the pilot, you have the engineers, you have the entire circus working together, you have the entire air force supporting it. There's so much that goes into that.

And that's what maturing and growing through university taught me. That when you look at the space sector, it's not just the Apollo missions. It's not just the space race. It's this entire enormous industry that works with academia, that works with manufacturing companies, that works with governments and agencies.

But they have this this passion, this combined focus, this this this goal for the future and they all have to work together. And that is where the cutting edge comes from. For me, that that's what was so interesting. I love learning about academia.

I love being a bit more scientifically inclined. But when you have the opportunity and the resources around you to learn as much as you can about such an exciting field. You just wanna keep going. So whilst I was flying, I I really loved learning more about rocketry. I love learning more about aerospace and I continued that.

And I thought, why can't I do this side by side? And I could.

So I continued gaining hours on my license. And whilst I'm at the agency, I'm able to learn more about what is going on in the future of space as well, not just what's happened previously.

That is what's really exciting for me.

So, yes, it all started with meeting some pilots and now it's evolving. I'm meeting astronauts. I'm meeting visionaries with startups. I'm meeting people at university who've got these amazing ideas. I'm meeting people who are exploring the challenges that our world faces, who pose problems to us that we can use space as a solution for. There is just now this endless web of opportunities in the space sector, and it ties into everything. I mean, even when you look at flying, you're you're using satellites to support those aircraft.

You're using satellites to support the navigation side of things. You're you're using the same interconnectivity that the industry in space uses to support the the manufacturing of an aircraft. That that's still all very relevant and I guess that's where it all kinda came together for me. They're they're 2 very combined things in my life. When it comes to the business of space, the biggest misconception is that space is not used by everyone, that it it's not valuable for everyone. It is the most utilized thing in my opinion by anyone doing normal day to day activities. If you've used your phone today, you have used space most likely. If you tapped your card contactless, you have used space most likely.

The point of that is to say that there is something that for everyone to work in, to evolve ideas in, to be a part of that cutting edge technology, whether that's innovation, whether that's rocket designing, whether that is ideas for sustainability or watching the migration of whales and different, you know, animal, support as well. There is so so much. I I could go on forever, so I'll stop there. To be successful in space, I believe you really need to work together. And I can't emphasize how big that aspect needs to be. It's all about international collaboration. Space should be something that is for peaceful purposes. It should be for the natural curiosity of the human mind to explore the universe to whether it's to become become a multi planetary species or to explore what exists in our environment in the solar system or beyond.

But it should also be there to support the normal day to day activities that we have to increase our quality of life on Earth. It should increase the collaboration that we have as humans on Earth together anyway.

I heard a very interesting example of that, from the National Space Center in Leicester, which during current events, we're able to see a synchrotron, in the Middle East being supported by various different nations, which currently through current affairs, they do not agree, and space brings people together. It was a really nice example of seeing that it should remain that way.

And I think to be successful, you have to keep that at the forefront of your mind about having that international collaboration, whether that is to support the next generation with jobs and industry opportunities or whether is that is to create an entirely new climate change mission or a deep space exploration mission or whether it is to support the transfer of humans onto Mars or planet xyz. It doesn't matter. You still have to work together. So that needs to be at the front of your mind.

When you think of all the exciting opportunities in space, you think about sci fi films. You think about anything that could possibly happen. Quantum communication, you can think about gravitational waves sending out messages to aliens, things like that. All of that is now not sci fi. It's all very, very futuristic possibilities that we can work towards. The thing that excites me the most is what we can do, for planet Earth.

Now just this week, I was asked, what's your favorite planet? And I thought, okay, your whole Saturn's very pretty. Jupiter's very cool.

But then I never really clocked that actually planet Earth is the most majestic part of our solar system.

It's just stunning how everything works the way that it does biologically.

And I am so excited to see how our future space technology and current space technology will help to protect our planet, to restore its its climate as as best as we can, but to also support ecosystems. I mean, I I made, my students in Saudi Arabia, I made them do a debate. I split the classroom in half, and I said, space is a waste of time on one side. And I said, space is is useful on the other side. And the discussion, the heated debate that we got was enormous. It was really, really interesting because the students who were researching how useful it was were able to find out that you could use it to explore the migration of species and and support the extinction of species as well.

You support against that and be able to protect our ecosystems and planets and then the climate. I mean, during the COVID 19 pandemic, because we had reduced our emissions, because we were less active, you were able to monitor that the the planet's temperature actually did go down. That is phenomenal for me. I I feel like that is the most exciting thing for the future.

We might be able to save our home or at least be able to learn so much more about it. Right now, whilst I'm working with the agency and and exploring so much more about the space sector, I'm still learning to develop my skills as a pilot. I'm hoping to build that into various different things and fly different aircraft and helicopters as well.

For me, I'm really keen to learn about what we can do, as a human species, as what we can do in the space sector, what we can do even in aviation.

But in the future, I'm really keen to also share my story.

I've had a lot of challenges, which, we can explore another time. But I've also learned what it feels like to build resilience the hard way, and I want to share that. I want people to learn that they can do it too.

I want young women who look like me to feel like they can do it too. And so my mission is also to share my story whilst learning more.

I'm Maleha Khan, and you've been listening to Your Business in Space. All the ways to connect with me are in links in the show notes.

To discover more, head to interastra.space

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In this episode, you’ll discover:

“I want young women who look like me to feel like they can do it too.”

— Maleha Khan

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