By Graig Nunis | Malaysia | TwentyTwo13 |
Brelveenraj Kaur is aiming for the stars – literally and figuratively.
An engineer in Measat’s Satellite Engineering Department, Brelveenraj said it is her dream to become an astronaut and work on board a space station one day.
It is quite fitting, given that this year’s ‘Space Week’, which ends today, celebrates ‘Women in Space’.
“I am ready to do the hard work to become one – whenever that is. The first step is to be prepared to face hardship. I am ready for that,” said Brelveenraj, an Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduate from the National Defence University of Malaysia.
“It would be very cool to perform research in microgravity because it is a very challenging environment. I hope to get that chance one day.
“And it is not just about experiments. The Russians are shooting a movie in space, beating Tom Cruise to the punch as he wanted to be the first to do so!”
Brelveenraj, or Brel to her friends, said space is a multidisciplinary field, and anyone could be involved in the industry – even if they do not have a science, technology, engineering and mathematics background.
“You can be a space lawyer, space journalist or be involved in space tourism. But you must have passion. Only then, can you make it,” said Brelveenraj, who is pursuing her Masters in Aerospace Engineering.
And passion is something Brelveenraj has in spades.
From knowing next to nothing about satellites, to controlling them, the plucky lass has fought her inner demons to be the National Point of Contact to the United Nations-backed Space Generation Advisory Council.
“I had plenty of self-doubt when I joined Measat in 2018. I felt scared that maybe, I was not good enough. Or perhaps, somebody else should be here. Many negative thoughts.
“But I pushed through, as I am so passionate about what I do,” said Brelveenraj, who was inspired by her colleagues, who are from diverse educational backgrounds.
“My on the job training was excellent and challenging, but it helped put me where I am today.”
Read the full story, ‘Satellite engineer Brelveenraj Kaur shoots for the stars, aims to be astronaut’, (Twenty Two 13, 10 Oct 2021), here.
RELATED STORY:
Malaysian girl joins UN-backed space programme (Asia Samachar, 29 May 2020)
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