Hibah Rehmani: From a Pakistani born refugee to NASA avionics engineer
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*LAHORE: *Hibah Rehmani survived the Gulf war, lived as a refugee in Jordan, and then went on to become an avionics engineer at the United States’ National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA).
Rehmani was born in Pakistan but moved to Kuwait with her family when she was only a month old. That was until war broke out in the country. When Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, she had to flee with her family to a refugee camp near the Iraq-Jordan border. The night her family reached the refugee camp, there were no tents available. Her family had to spend the nights under the open desert sky.
“My fondest memory growing up is taking walks with my family at night. Looking up at the sky I was fascinated by the moon and the stars. It was around this time I developed a passion for science, space, and astronomy,” said Rehmani.
“It was a tough time for us, one of the things I remember from that night was gazing at the sky, the moon and stars, while trying to sleep on the cold desert sand. That was when I realised that I wanted to be in a profession where I could discover space.”
Her father was in the US at the time of the invasion, and after a brief stay in Jordan, she travelled with her mother and sister to Pakistan, where the family reunited. They stayed in Pakistan for a year before eventually moving to the US, where Hibah was able to pursue her dream of becoming an engineer at the University of Central Florida (UCF). After graduating, she started working for Boeing, which assigned her to work at the Kennedy Space Center as a systems engineer for the International Space Station (ISS).
“I was involved with integrated testing of ISS components and sometimes astronauts would stop by to either view or participate in the testing. It was then when I got more interested in this line of work and applied to NASA. I was fortunate and blessed enough to be selected by NASA.”
“While working full time at the Kennedy Space Center, I obtained an MS in electrical and computer engineering from Georgia Tech,” she said. In 2008, Rahmani accepted her current position at NASA’s Engineering and Technology Directorate at Kennedy.
“I work as an avionic and flight controls engineer and support NASA’s Launch Services Program, working on expendable launch vehicles and rockets.
