Mishaal Ashemimry, the first female aerospace engineer in the GCC, has carved a remarkable path in a field long dominated by men. Her fascination with the cosmos began at age six, gazing at the stars in the desert of Unayzah. “I wanted to understand what they were, why they were up there, what they're really made out of. And so I decided the only way to truly understand… is to go to space. And the only way to go to space is with a rocket,” she recalls.
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Her determination was tested early when a teacher dismissed her ambitions: “You’re a woman, your role is not to be that. So stop talking about space.” Mishaal’s response was defiant and defining: “These are your limitations. These are not my limitations.” With support from her family, she pursued aerospace engineering, earning her master’s with research funded by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center on nuclear thermal rockets—technology envisioned for crewed missions to Mars.
At just 26, she founded MISHAAL Aerospace, a company dedicated to launching small satellites into Low Earth Orbit. Despite technical success, funding challenges forced her to pause operations, but her passion never waned. Consulting in France reignited her aerospace career, and she later became a certified commercial pilot. Today, she serves as Special Advisor to the CEO of the Saudi Space Commission, helping shape Saudi Arabia’s role in the global space economy.
Mishaal’s expertise spans across aerodynamics, predictive simulation, and rocket stage-separation analysis. But her greatest achievement is inspiring others to dream boldly. In this episode of Women of Progress Season 2 we join us in Mishaal Ashemimry’s journey which proves that Sky is the limit, if you have faith in your ambitions.
